Winter Storm Petra swept into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Wednesday after a days-long trek from the West, shutting down schools and causing major air travel problems at some of the regions' busiest hubs.

Three deaths have been confirmed on snow-covered roads in the wake of Petra – two in New Jersey and one in Kansas. All three deaths occurred on Wednesday.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm. Schools and government offices closed Wednesday from Kansas City to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Philadelphia to Baltimore and Washington D.C., as well as in Atlantic City. In Pennsylvania, a travel ban is in effect for commercial vehicles.

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More than 2,000 flights were canceled as a result of the winter storm.

(MORE: The Latest Impacts from Winter Storm Petra)

Before pushing eastward into the Plains, Petra brought additional heavy snow to California's Sierra Nevada, causing travel headaches Sunday.

The storm brought rare snowfall to the Las Vegas metro area Sunday, closing Interstate 15 west to California Monday morning. In Flagstaff, Arizona, 14.5 inches of snow fell into Monday, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, saw 1 to 3 inches on Tuesday. The storm moved east on Tuesday, bringing more than 6 inches to south-central Kansas.

Click through the slideshow to see photos of Winter Storm Petra, and check back for more images as the storm continues on its journey.