Spring storm hits US east coast with up to foot of snow

NEW YORK, Mar 22 (APP):The first day of spring Wednesday brought yet another snowstorm to the United States’ east coast, causing travel chaos and widespread school and business closures.
Airlines canceled more than 4,000 flights, tens of thousands of customers lost power from West Virginia northward, and schools throughout the Northeast called off classes ahead of the storm.
At least two traffic deaths were reported in New Jersey and on New York’s Long Island.
The fourth storm in three weeks dumped more than a foot of snow in the New York region Wednesday. Forecasters said Boston could get another 6 inches as the storm moved into New England.
On the other side of the country, a storm brought heavy rain to California, and tens of thousands of people in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties were ordered to flee their homes because of the danger of mudslides on slopes burned by recent wildfires, according to media reports.
In New Jersey, some streets were flooded along the shore. e a plastic garbage can bobbed in the waves.
On the ground, Amtrak train service scaled back service on the Northeast corridor between Washington and Boston, and some states banned trucks from major highways.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for New York City and its suburbs and said 5,500 utility workers and 300 National Guard members were standing by. The state also sent generators, light towers, ploughs and salt to areas that have already endured multi-day, storm-related power outages this month.