The Associated Press
Wednesday, March 10, 1999; 7:15 a.m. EST

Winter storms that blanketed the mid-Atlantic states with up to a foot of snow eased today as the low pressure that brought the system moved into the Atlantic Ocean.

Snow was lingering this morning from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic states, adding another inch or two to the thick blanket already on the ground.

As much as a foot of snow fell Tuesday in parts of West Virginia and Virginia, while heavy accumulations also were found in Maryland and other areas of Virginia. Eight inches fell on Washington, D.C.

Morning clouds over the Northeast were expected to clear today, while partly cloudy and dry weather was forecast for the Southeast.

Snow showers and flurries were still possible over the eastern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, with only minor accumulations. Farther west, a weak disturbance was expected to spread snow into the northern Plains.

An inch or so of light snow had already fallen this morning in South Dakota and Nebraska, while clouds collected near the Canadian border. Some lake effect snow was falling near Milwaukee and Chicago.

Windy conditions could blow snow and cut visibility to less than a mile.

Quiet weather was forecast across the central and southern Plains and the lower Mississippi Valley.

Light to moderate snow fell early in the northern and central Rockies, while low pressure brought rain along the Northwest coast. An inch or two of snow was expected in parts of Montana, Wyoming and northern Colorado, while the rain from northern California to Washington state remained light.

Dry weather was forecast for the rest of California and the Southwest.

Temperatures Tuesday ranged from 88 in the Texas towns of McAllen, Harlingen and Alice, to 23 below zero in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Highs today were forecast in the 20s from the northern Plains east to northern New England; the 30s in the northern Rockies, southern Great Lakes, northern mid-Atlantic states and Northeast; the 60s to the 80s from the Los Angeles area across the southern states to the Georgia-Florida coast; and the 40s and 50s elsewhere.