On 1st day of spring, northeastern US getting winter blast

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - In meteorological March Madness, winter is scoring an upset.

Forecasters say a storm will dump up to five inches of snow on the flake-frazzled northeastern U.S. today - just in time for the first day of spring.

Meteorologist Ryan Maue, of Weather Bell Analytics, says a swath from Philadelphia to Connecticut will see enough snow to force the plows back onto the roads and the snow blowers back in the driveways.

Even Boston, which has seen a record 108.6 inches of snow, could get an inch or 2 more.

"It's more of a nuisance at this point, especially after this winter," Maue said.

Cold air from another arctic blast is chilling moisture along the Virginia coast. That system will move north and east today, dropping a potential 3 to 5 inches northwest of Philadelphia and outside New York City.

Some areas will also see rain.

Millions of people in the storm's path have endured epic snowfalls and below-zero temperatures.

Spring might take a while to fully win out, Maue said. Temperatures will remain unseasonable cool into next week and another system with snow potential is headed for the Midwest, he said.