Easter showers to dot northeastern US for the holiday
The same storm system that brought flooding downpours to parts of the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic on Friday, and northern New England on Saturday will keep the threat for showers around on Easter Sunday.
Although the storm system has weakened significantly and will continue to unwind as it drifts slowly northeastward into Monday, it will still have enough energy to trigger afternoon showers in the mid-Atlantic on Easter.
In addition, a few isolated thunderstorms capable of producing small hail will threaten anyone with outdoor plans. Thunderstorms in western Pennsylvania produced hail on Saturday under similar atmospheric conditions.
"While the entire day will not be a washout, showers and a few thunderstorms will dampen parts of eastern New England, the mid-Atlantic and central Appalachians," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Even though the showers and isolated thunderstorms will be brief and miss many cities and towns, Easter egg hunts and other holiday gatherings can be temporarily disrupted in areas that do get hit with wet weather.
A period of steady rain is likely in eastern parts of Maine on Sunday morning, but that will move offshore by the midday and afternoon hours.
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Anybody with travel plans on interstates 80, 81, 83, 90 and 95 on Sunday should be alert for rapidly changing roadway conditions and expect slowed traffic in any heavier showers.
A few airline delays are also possible into Monday, but these should not be widespread since the gusty winds that whipped through the Northeast on Friday and Saturday will subside on Sunday and Monday.
As many partake in Earth Day celebrations and festivities on Monday, a new area of low pressure will develop off the mid-Atlantic coastline and bring a period of steady rain to southeastern New England as it tracks northward.
Not only could the afternoon be a washout in Boston, but a chilly breeze accompanying temperatures in the 50s could have people scrambling for jackets and sweatshirts.
The rain will move into Maine by Monday evening and Monday night and threaten to exacerbate the already major flooding taking place in northern New England.
Farther to the south and west, the weather on Monday should be significantly better.
While a shower or two could get as far west as New York City on Monday, much of the day should bring partial sunshine with high temperatures reaching the middle to upper 60s.
"Earth Day should feature a mixture of clouds and sunshine with temperatures climbing to a comfortable high in the lower 70s in Washington, D.C.," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
High temperatures across most of the mid-Atlantic should be about 5 degrees Fahrenheit higher on Monday than what they will be on Easter Sunday. The opposite will be true across New England, where highs on Monday will be about 5-10 degrees lower than on Sunday.
As that storm system finally pulls into southeastern Canada on Tuesday, unseasonably warm air will spread into southern New England before another storm system brings showers and storms back to the Northeast on Tuesday night.
Download the free AccuWeather app to find out when showers will dampen your area. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
