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Is it really spring? Another nor'easter pounds East Coast with snow

People go sledding in heavy snowfall on March 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The fourth nor'easter in three weeks has forced school closures and flight cancellations on the second day of spring. (Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)

NEW YORK — It may be spring, but a fourth nor'easter in less than three weeks is hitting the East Coast Wednesday, bringing snow and gusty winds to the major Northeast cities.

Here’s the latest on a spring nor'easter hitting the mid-Atlantic and Northeast (all times local):

5:10 p.m.

A massive snowball fight is ongoing in the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Snowball Fight in the Nation's Capital

If you think it's cold in Georgia, just be glad you're not in the Northeast ... where they're getting hit with ANOTHER nor'easter! (MORE: 2wsb.tv/2pv31vT)

Posted by WSB-TV on Wednesday, March 21, 2018

4:20 p.m.

New Jersey's governor says that the worst is yet to come from a nor'easter pounding the region.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday warned people not to be trapped into thinking they can carry on business as normal.

Ice on power lines has contributed to about 7,000 power outages in the state, while there were about 2,000 outages in Pennsylvania.

Heavy snow was falling as Wednesday's evening commute began.

National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Peterson says, "It's going to be a pretty brutal commute this evening."

New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito warns people planning to shovel the heavy, wet snow to "really be cautious" and take it slow.

2:15 p.m.

Justin Timberlake's Wednesday night concert in New York City is being postponed due to the spring nor'easter.

The pop star posted a video of himself in the snow on Instagram.

Timberlake says his Thursday night show at Madison Square Garden will still go on. Wednesday's concert will be rescheduled.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency for New York City and its suburbs.

The declaration issued Wednesday by the Democratic governor allows the state to cut red tape and make decisions that affect local governments uniformly.

Police say slick roads were a factor in a fatal crash on Long Island.

1:05 p.m.

New York police say slick roads were a factor in a fatal crash on Long Island.

According to Newsday, a woman was killed and five other people were injured when a van overturned on the Wantagh State Parkway in Nassau County.

It happened around 10 a.m. Wednesday, just as snow accumulation started to pick up.

A spring nor'easter is targeting the Northeast with strong winds and a foot or more of snow expected in some parts of the region.

12:45 p.m.

For some areas that have mostly dodged snowfall this winter, the latest nor'easter was their first major storm.

Sarah Schottler, who runs Blakeley Street Bakery in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle community of Charles Town, said a vendor show in Maryland where she was supposed to promote her products was canceled by the storm. But that freed her up to get some Easter cookie orders filled at her shop.

Her two children got a day off from school Wednesday after about 8 inches of snow fell. More was coming down.

Schottler said she feels a lot of people were OK with the storm after they spent all winter wondering if any snow would fall. She says, "You know it's the last one. So it's like the light at the end of the tunnel."

11:40 a.m.

A New Jersey law enforcement agency has rescinded its tongue-in-cheek prohibition against schoolchildren doing numerous activities that kids believe will make it snow more.

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office issued the "ban" on Tuesday in a social media post. But office spokesman Al Della Fave rescinded it Wednesday following an online backlash from children -- including his own.

Della Fave also posed for a photo on his Facebook page wearing a pair of his undershorts on his head as penance for the "misguided mandate."

11:15 a.m.

The executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says air travel in the New York City area will be "severely, severely affected by this storm."

Rick Cotton said at midmorning Wednesday that LaGuardia Airport had about 75 percent of its flights cancelled. Newark Liberty and Kennedy were severely hampered as well and the situation is expected to worsen throughout the day.

At New York's Port Authority bus terminal, Cotton says, "Virtually all of the long distance carriers" have canceled service.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says 5,500 utility workers and 300 National Guard members are at the ready. The state also has sent generators, light towers, plows, salt and other equipment and supplies downstate.

9:40 a.m.

It might be spring, but areas of West Virginia and Kentucky look more like winter with forecasters predicting up to a foot of snow in some areas.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the eastern half of West Virginia until 11 p.m. Wednesday and in areas around Louisville, Kentucky, until 2 p.m. Much of the rest of both states were under a winter storm advisory that called for up to 5 inches of snowfall.

Snow that began falling Tuesday night, continued Wednesday morning, making travel difficult in some areas and leading several school systems to cancel classes.

12:10 a.m.

A spring nor'easter is targeting the Northeast with strong winds and a foot or more of snow expected in some parts of the region.

The bulk of the snow and sleet is predicted to pound New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and parts of eastern Pennsylvania on Wednesday before heading toward Cape Cod early Thursday.

Widespread power outages are possible with gusts blowing up to 35 mph.

Airlines canceled flights and schools canceled classes ahead of the fourth major storm in three weeks.

In Philadelphia, where wind-whipped snow fell on Tuesday, restaurant server Katy Halbeisen called the early spring storm "pretty lame."

This article was written by The Associated Press.