On the second day of spring, and after a walloping rerun of winter, the storm that brought snowfall to much of the Northeast has tapered off.
Oakham, Massachusetts, received the most snowfall so far with 7½ inches, said CNN meteorologist Rachel Aissen. Vernon, Connecticut, topped out at 6½ and areas of Rhode Island got 6 inches of snow.
There was just one-half inch blanketing New York’s LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The snow came courtesy of a low pressure system moving up the East Coast. The National Weather Service said that by Monday night and into Tuesday the central low pressure will reach the Canadian Maritimes, and at least 4 to 10 inches of snow could fall on Maine.
Emergency services in Massachusetts Monday afternoon announced that road conditions were improving. A winter storm warning for Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, and Suffolk counties was lifted at 11 a.m. ET.
“Spring means blooming life again, but I guess Mother Nature has something else in mind,” Richard Ramroop of Farmingdale, New York, told CNN affiliate WCBS.
Earlier Monday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio urged New Yorkers to allow extra travel time and drive slowly, and to exercise caution walking and biking.
The bizarre weather prompted a Boston hardware store to remove its front window beach chair display, the Boston Globe reported.
“It’s kind of funny — it’s been beautiful this week, and been a beautiful day,” shift manager Rob Houdlette told the newspaper. “It’s hard to imagine we are going to get the snow we are going to get. It’s a weird one.”
Cape Cod was expected to get hit pretty hard, with up to 10 inches of snow. Schools opened late or classes were canceled altogether across the area, according to Capecod.com.
Boston Public Schools were closed Monday, mostly because of the timing of the snowfall, according to the district’s website. Public schools in Providence, Rhode Island, also canceled classes Monday, system spokeswoman Doris De Los Santos told CNN in a Sunday email.
Temperatures are going to make a quick rebound from this burst of winterlike weather, with temperatures reaching the lower 50s for Boston by Wednesday and the 60s for New York.
CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said there may not be much accumulation on New York City area roads because of recent high temperatures.
“There could be issues on overpasses, which I am sure will be treated by the DOT,” he said. “Roadways toward the eastern portions of Long Island are expected to be more hazardous due to more snowfall expected in those areas out toward Montauk, which could see up to 8 inches of snow.”