East Pummeled Again by Snow, Sleet and Rain

WASHINGTON â€”  Another major storm system slammed the Eastern Seaboard on Wednesday, dumping snow, sleet and rain from Maine to Florida.

“We’re pretty sick of this,� said Rhonda Lynch, a legal secretary in Martinsburg, W. Va. “We’re hoping that if March is coming in like a lion, it’ll go out like a lamb.�

As much as two feet of snow was possible in the hills of western Maryland and south-central Pennsylvania, the National Weather Service reported.

The big storm extended along most of the Eastern Seaboard and Appalachians, with snow edging into New England at the same time Florida had thunderstorms and at least one tornado. Flooding in the Sunshine State brought out snakes and floating clusters of fire ants.

As the storm slowly chugged up the coast, Maryland was pelted with rain and snow, and New Jersey got a nasty mixture of several inches of snow topped with sleet and rain. Massachusetts’ heaviest snowfall was not expected until this morning’s rush hour. Up to a foot of snow was expected in the western end of the state, with 20-foot seas along the coast.

Virginia Gov. George F. Allen declared a state of emergency after the state was hit with snow in the north and freezing rain in the south. There were more than 170,000 power outages statewide, and numerous roads in the southern part of the state were blocked by falling trees.

Ten inches of snow fell Wednesday on Virginia’s central Blue Ridge near Charlottesville and Winchester. Up to five inches of snow in northern Virginia’s Washington suburbs snarled traffic on Interstates 95 and 66.

Schools were closed in parts of western and northern Virginia, including Caroline County, where students have missed about two weeks of class this winter.