Easter Sunday Outlook: Chill to Grip New England; Rain to Dampen West

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

April 4,2015; 12:16AM,EDT

 

 

While bright sunshine and springtime warmth are in store for parts of the nation on Easter Sunday, people in the Northeast will need to bundle up and umbrellas may be needed for parts of Texas and the West Coast.
The calmest weather in the nation will be found in an arc of sunshine stretching from the Southeastern states to the middle Mississippi Valley, central Plains, central Rockies and Desert Southwest on Sunday.

Mostly Calm Weather Dominates Central, Southern US
As cooler air spreads across Orlando with a high in the 70s to near 80, temperatures will peak near 70 in Atlanta, Nashville, Tennessee, St. Louis, Denver and Salt Lake City. Highs will be well into the 80s in Phoenix.
Only spotty showers are in the offing for the Florida Keys and part of the east coast of Florida, including Miami, while more numerous showers and thunderstorms can dampen the holiday in Dallas and Houston.
Rain and thunder could spread northward and eastward into parts of the southern Plains and the lower Mississippi Valley as the day progresses.
Wet Weather in Store for West
There is good news and bad news for parts of the Pacific coast and interior Northwest, with some rain in store for some drought-stricken areas but also the potential for wet weather spoiling outdoor religious services and other gatherings.
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Clouds, showers and cool air will extend from central California northward to Washington state. San Francisco, Seattle and Boise, Idaho, can expect some wet weather.
The clouds and sporadic rainfall with high-elevation snow showers will reach the northern Sierra Nevada, the Snake River Basin and part of the northern Rockies.
Dry weather will hold around Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego, but winds will kick up during the afternoon. Gusts to 25 mph are possible.
Chill to Grip New England, Upper Midwest
As has been the case during much of March, cold air will hang on in the New England on Easter Sunday with snow for part of upstate New York and New England.
Temperatures are forecast to peak within a few degrees of the freezing mark from upstate New York to northern New England. Snow showers will litter parts of Maine.
A narrow stripe of of wet snow and rain will affect part of the lower Great Lakes, upstate New York and into southern New England on Sunday into Sunday night. Cities that could be affected by the storm include Buffalo and Albany, New York, during the day and perhaps Boston at night.
South of this small storm system temperatures will rebound to near to above seasonable levels with a gusty southwesterly breeze.