Snow storm smacks northeastern Pa.

Winter made an early debut in northeastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday as a storm walloped parts of the region with strong winds and more than a foot of snow, closing schools and causing power outages and road closures.

PPL Corp. said about 39,000 customers lost power.

Higher elevations of the Poconos received 8 to 13 inches of wet snow by Tuesday afternoon, causing downed trees and power lines, the National Weather Service said. Winds were gusting up to 45 mph.

Valley regions of northeastern Pennsylvania were expected to get 1 to 4 inches.

Snow also popped up in the Philadelphia suburbs. The Philadelphia Park horse racing track in Bensalem reported light snow, 40-degree temperatures and a sloppy track Tuesday afternoon.

The storm caused numerous traffic accidents. Stretches of Interstate 80 closed, then reopened, then closed again due to crashes. Interstate 84 at the New York-Pennsylvania line also closed for a spell.

The storm was expected to deposit another 1 or 2 inches of snow before leaving the area tonight.