Despite spring's recent arrival, eight states will face snowfall on Easter Sunday this weekend.
Much of the Northern, Midwestern and Western U.S. will experience either snow or rain over the weekend. On the West Coast, the third storm in a series of back-to-back weather events will arrive in California by the weekend, bringing snow and rain to several states. Those bracing for snow are South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California, AccuWeather reported.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist John Feerick told Newsweek that snow levels will be at 5,000 feet in California. He said up to 12 inches of snow can be expected above 6,000 feet, with up to 2 feet forecast for areas 7,000 feet high.
"It's a situation where a lot of the cities, like Salt Lake City, will probably have mostly rain, but the ski resorts are going to do pretty well [with snow]," Feerick said.
However, meteorologists are more concerned about the threat from hailstones.
"The main threat of severe weather on Sunday will stem from significant hail," AccuWeather storm warning meteorologist Joseph Bauer said in the report. Hail could reach golf ball size, and smaller hail could cover the ground in some areas.
In California, wet snow will mix with rain further south, according to the report.
"Coming in right before the end of the month, Sierra Nevada will have one final chance to tally up additional snowpack before the unofficial end of the wet season," AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
A large swath of the Central and Midwestern U.S. will experience rain and thunderstorms on Easter Sunday. Cold temperatures will hit the Northeast, whereas warm temperatures will hit the South.
The weekend weather will likely be severe enough to "spoil outdoor plans ranging from religious services to Easter egg hunts to barbeques and ball games," AccuWeather said, while also threatening flash floods in some areas.
Severe weather will continue into Monday, when thunderstorms will threaten several states from Texas to Indiana.
"Near and north of the primary severe weather zone, a swath of heavy rain will extend from parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana from Sunday to Monday before expanding to parts of Ohio and West Virginia from Monday to Tuesday," Bauer said.
The bout of severe weather comes as snow affected multiple U.S. states in the first week of spring. Heavy snow began falling in Minneapolis on Sunday, and the storm quickly became the biggest of the season for some parts of the city, AccuWeather reported.
As of Thursday morning, six states were under a National Weather Service winter weather advisory.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
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