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Latest storm brings more snow to East Coast

A quick-moving storm brought several inches of snow as well as rare "thundersnow" to parts of the winter-weary East Coast, prompting speed restrictions on Pennsylvania highways on Tuesday, days after the Southeast and Northeast were paralyzed with heavy snow, ice and massive power outages.

By midday, the National Weather Service said 6.5 inches of snow had been reported in Butler County, 6 inches in Lawrence County and more than 5 inches in Somerset County, all in western Pennsylvania, with 3 inches at Philadelphia International Airport.

The storm also brought "thundersnow," an area of heavy snow with embedded thunder, from near downtown Pittsburgh to Dubois. Forecasters said moderate to heavy snow would follow with snowfall rates over 1 inch per hour.

The storm led Pennsylvania Turnpike officials to reduce speed limits to 45 mph along the entire 360-mile highway system. Speed limits were later lifted on most of the system except for the portion outside of Philadelphia where a series of crashes last week injured 30 people and left cars stranded for miles for hours. Transportation officials also imposed speed limits on some interstates and other roads.

Forecasters predicted many East Coast states would see 3 to 6 inches of snow on Tuesday after the storm moved in overnight from the Great Lakes and through the mid-Atlantic. Some areas were getting rain, sleet or a snow-rain mixture as the storm moved up the coast.

"We're looking at a relatively short duration event," said the weather service's John Cristantello.

Temperatures above freezing on Tuesday should move up to the 40s to mid-50s for the remainder of the week, he said, giving people a reprieve from shoveling and shivering.

Coastal areas in Maine and Massachusetts saw blizzard-like conditions with more than a foot of snow on Saturday, and thousands on Cape Cod were left without power. Maine was expected to get another 4 to 8 inches of snow on Tuesday. Boston was forecast get 1 to 3 inches but Worcester, located west of the capital, could get as much as 6 to 8 inches.

Many schools in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine canceled for the day or planned early dismissals.

On Monday, several inches of snow fell across the Great Lakes, causing Chicago's two airports to cancel more than 1,000 flights. In Michigan, crashes closed portions of Interstate 96 in Grand Rapids and the Muskegon area saw whiteout conditions.

Last week, about 1.2 million utility customers lost power as the storm marched from the South through the Northeast. Schools, businesses and government offices closed. The storm was blamed for at least 25 deaths stretching from Texas to Maine.

A worker uses a snowblower outside the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014. The winter storm that cut electricity to more than half a million customers across the South and grounded 10,000 flights this week turned its power on the U.S. Northeast, bringing heavy snow from Virginia to Maine. Bloomberg News
James Madison University sophomore Bryan Murphy grinds a rail on campus as other students snowboard, ski and sled the hill in front of the ISAT building on campus Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, in Harrisonburg, Va. Associated Press
Grant French blows snow while his brother, Ross, follows with a shovel along Main Street in Bridgewater, Va., Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014. Associated Press
Marco Garcia, of Guatemala, shovels snow Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014, in Trenton, N.J., after a quick-moving storm brought several inches of snow as well as rare "thundersnow" to parts of the winter-weary East Coast. Associated Press
A city worker clears heavy snow from the sidewalk along Ohio Rt. 10 in North Ridgeville, Ohio, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014. Several northern Ohio counties have banned all nonemergency driving as the latest winter blast closed some schools and dumped more snow and ice on residents weary of this weather. With warmer weather and rain forecast for later in the week, the National Weather Service says the combination of melting snow and more rain could cause significant flooding in some places. Associated Press
A pedestrian walks through a cloud of steam on a snowy street in New York, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. Commuters faced slick roads on Friday after yet another winter storm brought snow and ice to the East Coast, leaving at least 24 people dead. Associated Press
Piles of snow line the waterfront overlooking the New York City skyline in Weehawken, N.J., Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. Commuters faced slick roads on Friday after yet another winter storm brought snow and ice to the East Coast, leaving at least 24 people dead. Associated Press
An airline worker suspended in a bucket de-ices a JetBlue jetliner' wing at the airport in Hartford, Conn. on Saturday evening, Feb. 15, 2014. Another round of snow made its way into the Northeast on the heels of a storm that brought snow and ice to the East Coast, caused at least 25 deaths and left hundreds of thousands without power. Associated Press
A photographer walks along a snow-covered path in Central Park, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014 in New York. Yet another winter storm brought snow and ice to the East Coast. Associated Press
Car passes by the The York Water Company in York City, Pa., Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. A winter storm that brought snow and ice to the East Coast moved offshore Friday. The latest go-round of bad weather came just in time to delay tens of thousands of deliveries of Valentine's Day flowers, dropping snow, sleet and rain on roads already covered with deep puddles and icy patches. Associated Press
Cars are backed up as a van was stuck trying to get up a hill, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014 in Concord, N.H. Northern New England is a the end of a snowstorm that ran along the east coast and could get more than a foot of snow overnight. Associated Press
Stafford County Parks and Recreation employee Matthew Cunningham uses a snowblower to clear the sidewalk in front of the Stafford County Courthouse on in Stafford, Va on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014. The sloppy weather shuttered schools and businesses, made driving scary, grounded more than 6,000 flights on Thursday alone and created more backbreaking work for people along the East Coast, where shoveling out has become a weekly chore. Associated Press
A man shields his face from a mixed winter precipitation Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, in Philadelphia. Snow and sleet are falling on the East Coast, from North Carolina to New England, a day after sleet, snow and ice bombarded the Southeast. Associated Press
A morning commuter walks a plowed road as mixed winter precipitation falls Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, in Philadelphia. Snow and sleet are falling on the East Coast, from North Carolina to New England, a day after sleet, snow and ice bombarded the Southeast. Associated Press
A man clears snow in front of the DC Meat Market in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014. Snow and sleet are falling on the East Coast, from North Carolina to New England, a day after sleet, snow and ice bombarded the Southeast. Associated Press
A man clears snow in front of the Gold Shing Market in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014. Snow and sleet are falling on the East Coast from North Carolina to New England a day after sleet, snow and ice bombarded the Southeast. Associated Press
Pedestrians walk along a snow-covered sidewalk in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014. Snow and sleet are falling on the East Coast, from North Carolina to New England, a day after sleet, snow and ice bombarded the Southeast. Associated Press
Workers deliver produce during a snowstorm in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014. Snow and sleet are falling on the East Coast, from North Carolina to New England, a day after sleet, snow and ice bombarded the Southeast. Associated Press
A woman walks through the snow in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014. Snow and sleet are falling on the East Coast, from North Carolina to New England, a day after sleet, snow and ice bombarded the Southeast. Associated Press
Interstate 95 remains largely untraveled as mixed winter precipitation falls, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, in Philadelphia. Snow and sleet are falling on the East Coast, from North Carolina to New England, a day after sleet, snow and ice bombarded the Southeast. Associated Press
A board displays canceled flights at Logan International Airport in Boston on Saturday evening, Feb. 15, 2014. Another round of snow made its way into the Northeast on the heels of a storm that brought snow and ice to the East Coast, caused at least 25 deaths and left hundreds of thousands without power. Associated Press
This NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014 at 1:45 a.m. EST shows a powerful cyclone that brought widespread wintry precipitation to the South and East quickly exiting into the Canadian Maritimes toward southern Greenland. Meanwhile, a new system was already taking shape over the Tennessee Valley. Clouds associated with this system were overspreading much of the East, while areas of light rain and snow were also common. Associated Press
Pedestrians struggle to navigate a slushy intersection in New York, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. Commuters faced slick roads on Friday after yet another winter storm brought snow and ice to the East Coast, leaving at least 24 people dead. Associated Press
A man delivering flowers walks through a cloud of steam on a snowy street in New York, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. Commuters faced slick roads on Friday after yet another winter storm brought snow and ice to the East Coast, leaving at least 24 people dead. Associated Press
A woman and her dog go for a walk in Central Park, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014 in New York. Another winter storm brought snow and ice to the East Coast. Associated Press
A street artist performs as passers-by shelter against the rain with umbrellas in downtown Lisbon, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. Associated Press
Early morning commuters navigate icy roads in Decatur, Ala., after snow fell overnight Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. Associated Press
Residents walk in the flooded village of Wraysbury, England, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. British Prime Minister David Cameron says that money is no object in the fight against the mass flooding that has hit parts of England and that he is canceling his visit to the Middle East to oversee the effort. Associated Press
A Georgia transportation sign warns motorists on Interstate 75 on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, in Kennesaw, Ga., about 20 miles north of metro Atlanta. A winter snowstorm is blowing into Georgia in what the National Weather Service predicted to be "an event of historical proportions." Associated Press
Snow accumulates on a pickup truck as Ryan Warmack, center, walks toward a truck stop trying to locate tire chains during a winter snowstorm in Emerson, Ga., about 40 miles north of metro Atlanta, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. Associated Press
Jimmy Barnes walks on the sidewalk during a heavy snow day in Skokie, Ill., Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. The National Weather Service on Monday forecast up to 8 inches of snow for areas of northern Illinois and 5 inches in central Illinois. Associated Press
Grand Rapids Community College student Christina Lewis walks during a winter snowstorm, Monday, Feb. 17, 2014, in downtown Grand Rapids, Mich. Associated Press
Ovet Alavez, a student at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, Wis., with snow covered hair, boards a city bus in downtown Wausau, WIS., Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. Alavez, from Mexico, along with a group of other foreign students who attend the school, was enjoying a Presidents Day outing. Associated Press
Leesha Ague, of Moline, Ill., gets covered in snow while she waits for Bear, her 4-year-old Pomeranian, to make a decision during a quick walk along 7th Avenue in Moline, Ill., Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. The National Weather Service on Monday forecast up to 8 inches of snow for areas of northern Illinois and 5 inches in central Illinois. Associated Press
Marco Garcia, of Guatemala, shovels snow near the Statehouse in Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014, in Trenton, N.J., after a quick-moving storm brought several inches of snow as well as rare "thundersnow" to parts of the winter-weary East Coast. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) Associated Press
Icicles hang off the Nittany Lion Inn on the Penn State University campus as a bicyclist rides along Park Avenue, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014, in University Park, Pa. Snow closed all schools in Centre County, but Penn State University remains open. (AP Photo/Centre Daily Times, Nabil K. Mark) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT. Associated Press
Workers clear newly-fallen snow from a street, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014, in Trenton, N.J., after a quick-moving storm brought several inches of snow as well as rare "thundersnow" to parts of the winter-weary East Coast. Associated Press
Traffic is snarled along the Interstate 285 perimeter, north of the metro area after a winter snowstorm, in Atlanta. With memories of thousands of vehicles gridlocked for hours on icy metro Atlanta highways fresh in their minds, emergency officials and elected leaders in north Georgia were preparing Monday, Feb. 10, 2014, for another round of winter weather. (AP Photo/David Tulis, File) Associated Press
The first city trucks are loaded with rock & salt to begin rolling out to prepare roads for approaching winter weather at the Public Works North Avenue Facility on Monday, Feb. 10, 2014, in Atlanta. Associated Press
In this Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, file photo, cars abandoned during an earlier snowstorm sit idle along Northside Parkway in Atlanta. With memories of thousands of vehicles gridlocked for hours on icy metro Atlanta highways fresh in their minds, emergency officials and elected leaders in north Georgia were preparing Monday, Feb. 10, 2014, for another round of winter weather. Associated Press
A Santa Claus statue displayed outside The Christmas Shoppe sports a frozen face as it becomes covered in snow on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, in Helen, Ga. Associated Press
State highway 31 is closed to traffic due to icy road conditions Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, in Vinemont, Ala. Some vehicles bypassed the closure before highway could be plowed. A winter storm dropped several inches of snow on North Alabama overnight and more is expected. Associated Press
Vehicles travel slowly on Interstate 65 as several inches of snow cover the area on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, in Vinemont, Ala. A winter storm dropped several inches of snow on North Alabama overnight and more is expected. Associated Press
Jackson Sherrill slides down a hill at Founder Park in Decatur, Ala., on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. A winter storm dropped several inches of snow on North Alabama overnight and more is expected. Associated Press
A snowplow head toward Interstate 285 from Memorial Drive Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, in Decatur, Ga., in advance of the storm heading into the metro Atlanta area. A major winter storm is expected to bring up to 9 inches of snow in the mountains and extreme icing conditions on roads, trees and power lines elsewhere. Associated Press
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