FlightAware, the flight-tracking service, said that airlines had canceled more than 1,100 flights by 7:15 p.m. and that the number was likely to increase substantially on Wednesday. Around 500 had been canceled at the New York area’s three airports alone, and passengers were urged to contact their airline before going to any of those airports. Several carriers, including JetBlue, said they would waive fees associated with changing or canceling flights for customers traveling to affected cities.

Amtrak canceled some Acela Express, Northeast Regional, Keystone Service and Empire Service trains in the region, and Metro-North Railroad planned to run fewer trains during the morning and evening rushes.

New Jersey Transit said it would operate on a normal weekday schedule “as long as conditions allow,” but warned that bus service in North and Central Jersey, including service to and from Manhattan, could be suspended before the evening rush.

The storm was projected to arrive five days after heavy snow and high winds assaulted the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions on Friday, killing eight people and knocking out power for 2.7 million. Around 240,000 were still without power on Tuesday, according to the United States Energy Department, making the prospect of another hit especially worrisome. (The department said that it expected everyone to have power back by the end of the day, but that full restoration might be affected by Wednesday’s bad weather.)

Mr. Cuomo said in a briefing on Tuesday that 78,000 people were still without power in New York, which he called “unacceptable.”

“These storms have now become the rule rather than the exception, and they have to have the capacity to quickly restore power,” he said.

He said that his administration would deploy workers and equipment to the areas expected to be hit, particularly in the eastern part of the state, and that people without power should consider leaving their homes on Wednesday morning when the snow starts to fall.