Spring snow covers parts of Northeast

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NEW YORK, April 23 (UPI) -- A rare spring snowstorm blanketed parts of the Northeast and cut off power to more than 75,000 customers in Pennsylvania and upstate New York, officials said.

Aaron Tyburski, a National Weather Service meteorologist in State College, Pa., said the last time a big snowstorm came so late in spring was in 1928, the Los Angeles Times reported.

By Monday morning, 6 inches of snow had fallen in higher elevations of Pennsylvania, with 12 inches reported in certain areas, Tyburski said.

MSNBC reported snow was falling in upstate New York, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, with the heaviest snowfall expected to be at a rate of more than 1 inch per hour through midday.

Weather.com reported 10 inches of snow had fallen in Newfield in western New York near Ithaca.

Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches with localized amounts as high as 15 inches will be possible in higher elevations of West Virginia and western Maryland northward to the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in western New York, the National Weather Service said.

The Rochester (N.Y.) News and Chronicle reported the snow led to school closings and postponement of a minor-league baseball game.

Because of accumulation of snow on leaves of trees, many trees would likely fall onto power lines, Tyburski said.

Winter storm warnings were in effect from the higher elevations of West Virginia northward to western New York State, the National Weather Service said. Winter weather advisories were in effect for the Adirondacks in New York and in northern Maine, while flood watches were in effect for parts of eastern New York and parts of New Hampshire and Maine.

Heavy rain fell in parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

The Boston Globe said the rain came after a dry spell that has lasted months, left the state's rivers at record lows and contributed to more than 200 brush fires.

The Globe said officials hope the more than 3 inches of rain expected would raise the level of rivers and replenish aquifers.

The spring had been unseasonably warm and dry in the Northeast, with record-high temperatures well into the 80s on some days and locations from Washington to Boston reporting rainfall at least 6 inches below normal, AccuWeather reported.