Posted Tuesday, April 24, 2012 --- 7:20 a.m.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- A nor'easter packing soaking rain and springtime snow has churned up the Northeast.

The storm unleashed a burst of winter, closed some schools and triggered power outages.

The earliest hits were on higher ground, where snow-laden tree limbs pulled down power lines and commuters navigated slushy roads to work and school. Up to a foot of snow or more was forecast for higher elevations through tomorrow morning.

At the peak today, utilities reported about 50,000 customers without power in Pennsylvania and central and western New York.

Predictions of heavy snow in Pittsburgh melted away as the temperature remained well above freezing.

It was a similar situation in Buffalo, where an alternating mix of rain and wet snow fell throughout the day but did not accumulate on the roads or trees as expected.

A winter storm warning remains in effect through tomorrow for several counties along the New York-Pennsylvania border.

Farther east, the threat has been rain.

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.