1st day of spring gets cold, hard slap in East, gentle temps in West

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A woman walks on the Penn State University campus during a snowstorm Friday in State College, Pa. Forecasters say a storm will dump up to 6 inches of snow on the Northeast and mid-Atlantic on Friday.

(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

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An overturned vehicle is abandoned along I-99 on Friday in Centre County, Pa. (Nabil K. Mark / Associated Press)

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People make their way across Penn State University campus during a snowstorm Friday.

(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

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After his vehicle slid off the road, a driver hurries over to talk to a police officer Friday in State College, Pa. (Nabil K. Mark / Associated Press)

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The Smithsonian Institution Building known as the Castle is visible as a pedestrian walks through light snow on the first day of spring in Washington. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

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Luisa Rodriguez, of Succasunna, keeps her smile while braving the driving snow as she walks down W. Park Place in Morristown, N.J. (Bob Karp / Associated Press)

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A mix of snow and rain falls as a woman walks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

By Sarah ParviniStaff Writer

March 20, 2015 11:39 AM PT

Friday may mark the vernal equinox, but the first day of spring is feeling more like a mean slap from winter with snow, rain and the chills coursing through a large swath of the nation.

Half a foot of snow is expected to fall in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Texas is being drenched with rain. And in decidedly non-spring-like weather, much of Nebraska and South Dakota are on fire watch because of dry, warm and windy conditions.

Western states, however, are being treated to gentler weather.

A “little bit of a snowstorm” was well under way in central Pennsylvania late Friday morning, said meteorologist John LaCort of the National Weather Service. The region will receive between 3 and 6 inches of snow, he said, but it will be “nothing like what Boston had” when it saw a record 108.6 inches of snow. This time around, Boston could get an inch or two more.

Temperatures in Pennsylvania will be in the 30s to low 40s on Friday. By Saturday, spring will make an appearance with temperatures rising to the low 50s in Pennsylvania and the 60s in Virginia.

New York City could get three to 6 inches of snow Friday. The snow will become steadier and heavier through the afternoon, and forecasters anticipate a tough commute.

In South Texas, forecasters expect multiple showers and thunderstorms through Saturday night. Rainfall totals will average 2 to 4 inches, and some areas could get 6 inches. That combination prompted a flash flood warning in the area from 1 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Saturday.

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