Spring's start sees snow, cold in parts of the U.S.

NEW YORK-- If it's early spring, that means indecisive weather. And it's here.

Storms are leaving snow, rain, thunder and wind across parts of the East Coast this weekend.

Thunderstorms rumbled through Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland while New England was seeing snow. Not unusual for New Englanders, but given the mild winter of late, another reminder of where they live. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for early Sunday morning through near the noon hour for most of southern New England, parts of which saw up to six inches of snow.

In New York City, balmy, summery temperatures that neared 80 degrees on Friday were a distant memory two days later, as winter returned with a blasting, windy vengeance, CBS New York reported.

Powerful winds toppled trees in parts of Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, and hail also came down in some areas. Some areas also saw whiteout conditions as snow fell.

On Sunday morning, heavy snow fell at a rapid pace on the East End of Long Island, where the near-whiteout conditions were seen. Visibility was down to a half mile in the Hamptons on Sunday morning.

Rock Hill in Sullivan County saw a total of 5.1 inches of snow, Monroe saw 3 inches, and West Milford saw 2.4 inches.

In New York City proper, conditions were sunny Sunday morning, but blasting winds made for potentially dangerous conditions. Wind gusts hit 45 mph in Central Park, 44 in White Plains and Greenwich, Connecticut, and 39 in Belmar, New Jersey, CBS New York reported.

Wind chills were making it feel like 24 degrees in the city, 23 in Tenafly, 16 in Speonk, and a January-worthy 7 degrees in upstate New York's Liberty.

A high wind warning was in effect for the entire Tri-State Area until 2 p.m. Sunday, and a high wind watch continued afterward. Conditions remained bitter and windy through the afternoon.

Officials say downed electrical wires caused power outages to more than 700 homes in Staten Island as damaging high winds continued across the East Coast. Power was restored to all but 40 customers by 2 p.m. Sunday.

Electricity companies reported more than 9,000 outages in Massachusetts, over 5,000 in Connecticut and nearly 600 in Rhode Island.

Maine utility crews are working to restore power to more than 1,100 customers who lost power mainly due to high winds bringing tree limbs down on power lines.

New Jersey has about 46,000 outages, while Pennsylvania has more than 18,000.

High winds also caused a 17-year-old kayaker to capsize on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. She was rescued and taken to the hospital for possible hypothermia.

In upstate New York's Capital Region, a strong upper level disturbance moved through, bringing a blanket of snow to the ground and roadways, CBS affiliate WRGB reported.

Accumulations ranged from a trace of snow to as much as 6 inches in parts of the state. While much of the snow is expected to melt by the end of Sunday, snow showers will still be around Monday morning especially over the Catskills, Schoharie Valley, Mohawk Valley and Adirondacks, WRGB reported.

Some parts of Michigan are snow-covered as an early spring storm moves across the state.

National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Rozansky said about seven inches of snow has fallen in the Traverse City and Grayling areas and that more could fall by the end of Sunday.

Winter storm warnings have been issued for a number of areas, including Grand Rapids and Michigan's Thumb region. Rain is expected in Detroit.

Rozansky says a stronger system, packing more snow is expected to move into Michigan around midweek.

Some highways and roads across the state were icy as temperatures dipped below freezing.

The Saginaw News reports that northbound traffic on Interstate 75 at the Zilwaukee Bridge in Saginaw County was stopped for a time Saturday night following a crash.

Indiana power companies continued work Sunday to restore electricity to thousands of homes hit by Saturday's high winds.

More than 63,000 outages were reported by early evening Saturday. The number had dropped to about 15,000 by early Sunday afternoon.

Duke Energy reported about 7,400 customers were still without power. That number included 2,500 in the Terre Haute area in western Indiana.

Indiana Power & Light still had 6,200 customers without electricity.

NIPSCO reported it had yet to restore power to 900 customers - mostly in Gary.

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis continued to post a wind advisory for much of the state north and northwest of Crawfordsville, Kokomo and Marion.

It also issued flood warnings for areas surrounding the Wabash, Muscatatuck and White rivers.