NEW YORK, NY – A snowstorm expected to leave just a sprinkling in the city escalated dramatically as it hit Thursday, dumping as much as five inches and wreaking chaos on commuters as they tried to get home.

On the George Washington Bridge, multiple sliding vehicles collided shortly after the snow started falling around 2 p.m., closing down the upper levels of the span and leaving traffic stuck. "I haven't moved from this spot in more than two hours," said a driver who gave her name as Allison as she tried to get from work in The Bronx to her New Jersey home.

"I think I'm going to be sleeping in my car tonight. I want to cry." The gridlock had knock-on effects throughout northern Manhattan and as far south as the Upper West Side.

A snow-laden tree falls on the Upper East Side. By Jill Livesay/Patch At the Port Authority, hordes of travelers packed into the hub but found "no place to stand" as buses faced major delays. Penn Station trains fared little better. The Port Authority on Thursday night. Photo by Liana Messina/Patch The storm shocked New Yorkers as, just 24 hours earlier, forecasters had talked about just a half inch of snow which would quickly turn to rain. On Wednesday evening the possible total went up to three inches, with Calvin Drayton, the city's first deputy commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management, warning, "The roadways could be a little slushy, ... be very careful with walking, driving and riding any bicycles."

It increased to five inches just minutes before the first flakes arrived.

Across the city, people reported trees and branches, still laden with foliage, coming down under the weight of the snow.