Spring has sprung? Not for New Yorkers

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Although the calendar says it's officially spring and Sunday marked opening day for Major League Baseball, Mother Nature decided to give New Yorkers one more dose of winter weather.

According to the National Weather Service, a fast-moving low pressure system intensifying along an arctic front will bring late-season snow across the Great Lakes and New England through Monday.

In the Lower Hudson Valley, snow glazed lawns and streets Sunday as powerful winds tore down wires and left more than several thousand buildings without power.

Winds peaked at 48 mph in White Plains as the gales knocked down wires across Rockland, Westchester and Putnam counties.

"A good number of reports of damage across the region to trees and down power lines," AccuWeather meteorologist Evan Duffey said. "There are reports of power outages. The wind has caused damage."

Con Ed, as of 3 p.m. ET, reported scattered power loses in Westchester County, with nearly 1,000 customers, centered mostly in Yonkers, Tarrytown and New Rochelle. The noon number dropped from nearly 2,000 in the morning. Orange and Rockland Utilities reported 302 Rockland customers without power as of 3 p.m. Sunday.

The heavy winds led the state to downgrade the speed limit across the Tappan Zee Bridge to 35 mph.

The unseasonable weather will stay with the region for at least another week, though teasing residents with warmer temperatures amid frosty days.

While the temperatures could reach 40 degrees, the wind made the outdoors much colder. Duffey said the temperature will drop into the upper 20s Sunday night.

"Dress like it's 16 degrees," Duffey said. "The wind chill and other factors bring the temperatures well below freezing."

Further north, in the Rochester area, a winter storm warning was in effect through  2 p.m. Monday. Temperatures were expected to be in the low 20s on Sunday afternoon with winds of 15 to 25 mph. Forecasters said residents could see 3 to 6 inches of snow Sunday evening and another 1 to 2 inches on Monday.

That could make for a slick and messy commute on Monday.

The National Weather Service predicted more wintry weather with temperatures unseasonably cool until midweek, when snow will change to rain. Temperatures are expected to rise into the 40s on Wednesday and Thursday.

The winter of 2015-2016 has been remarkably mild, with record-setting high temperatures in December and significantly less snow than folks in Rochester are accustomed to seeing.

The wintertime warmth has been due to one of the strongest El Niño events on record. That periodic warming of the waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean has a profound effect on weather in the continental United States, with the strongest events typically leading to heavy precipitation in the southern part of the country and bringing unusually mild air to the Northeast.

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