Unseasonally cold air blasts eastern states

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - A blast of arctic air hit the eastern United States on Tuesday, pushing temperatures well below normal from the Great Lakes to Florida's citrus groves.

The big chill should stay for much of the week, forecasters said.

Lake-effect snow off the Great Lakes pelted northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania and western New York, where as much as two feet of snow was predicted in some areas.

A winter storm warning was in effect for Cleveland, and gusting winds and drifting snow reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile, the National Weather Service said.

Wind chill in Cleveland pushed temperatures to 5 to 10 degrees below zero at times, the Weather Service said.

At least a foot more snow was likely to sock Buffalo, New York, the Weather Service said.

Temperatures were not likely to rise above freezing in New York City, Boston and Philadelphia through Wednesday, forecasters said.

"Not only will the snow continue to pile up in select locations, but Arctic air discharging southward from Canada will keep temperatures running 15 to 20 degrees below normal," AccuWeather.com meteorologist Brian Edwards said.

"Along with the snow, frigid winds blowing out of the northwest will create whiteout conditions at times," he said.

Travel was particularly dangerous along Interstate 79 in northwestern Pennsylvania and along the New York State Thruway, AccuWeather said.

Nashville schools were closed for a second day due to snow, as were schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, a decision that irked St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

"Given ... the improving condition of the roads, the decision to deny our students a second day of school puts an undue burden on parents and families," the mayor said in a statement.

But the St. Paul school district said bus routes remain partially blocked, wind chills were dangerously cold and many sidewalks had not been cleared of snow.

The freezing conditions prompted schools in the Pittsburgh area to delay opening by two hours, while authorities dispatched snow plows and salt trucks on regional roads.

"We're going to keep our crews out there all day today," said Jim Struzzi, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Overnight snow dusted some suburbs of Washington, D.C., and New York City, slowing early morning commuting.

In central Florida temperatures dropped to near-record lows overnight, but growers reported little or no ice damage to their orange fruit and groves.

"Things went kind of better than expected," said Ray Royce, executive director of the Highlands County Citrus Growers Association in central Florida.

(Reporting by Daniel Lovering in Pittsburgh and Andrew Stern in Chicago; Writing by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Jerry Norton)