What spring? Snow snarls traffic, flights on US East Coast

The first Monday of spring brought snow instead of sunshine along the US East Coast, snarling the morning commute in the densely populated stretch between Washington and New York.

A storm that had dropped significant amounts of snow across the Midwest over the weekend rolled across Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey, bringing a slushy mix of snow and rain that prompted school closings and contributed to traffic accidents around the region.

The National Weather Service had winter storm warnings in effect from Massachusetts to South Carolina, with as much as 10 inches (25 cm) recorded in mountainous parts of West Virginia and up to a foot (30 cm) expected in Pittsburgh.

"Right now the eastern suburbs of (Washington) D.C. are still seeing moderate it snow and it's extending up through Baltimore and into northeastern Maryland," said Heather Sheffield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia. She said the storm was moving north and snow showers were expected through the day.

Some 448 flights in the United States had been canceled, mostly in the New York City area, according to FlightAware.com.

Winter's stubborn persistence on the fifth day after the official start of spring has started to take a toll on some parts of the country. Last week, an Ohio prosecutor said he would like to charge Punxsutawney Phil, the prognosticating groundhog who in February called for an early spring, with fraud.