Storyhighlights
• Record low temperatures forecast for Southeast, Midwest
• Freezing endangers blueberries in Georgia, peaches in Alabama
• Snow postpones baseball games in Cleveland, Ohio
• Famous Washington, D.C., cherry blossoms covered with snow


_{A dogwood blossom is covered in snow after an overnight snowfall in La Plata, Maryland, on Saturday.}

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- It's two weeks into spring, but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Cold air in much of the country has those celebrating Easter this weekend swapping out frills, bonnets and sandals for coats, scarves and socks. Baseball fans are huddled in blankets, and instead of spring planting, backyard gardeners are bundling their crops.

The National Weather Service was predicting record lows Sunday for parts of the Southeast and Midwest, and an unseasonably cold weekend for much of the Northeast. Snow was forecast in parts of Ohio, Michigan and New England.

"Our musicians are worried about their fingers," said the Rev. Michael Bingham, pastor of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, where Sunday lows were predicted to be in the low 20s. The church's sunrise Easter service usually held in a courtyard will be moved indoors.

In Morrison, Colorado, officials were forced to cancel an annual sunrise service at the Red Rocks Amphitheater because seats and stairways were covered in ice.

In Washington, D.C., visitors to the nation's capital awoke Saturday to see cherry blossoms coated with snow. Snow also fell in metro Atlanta Friday night, and even in parts of West Texas and the Texas Panhandle.

Heavier snow in Ohio postponed Saturday's doubleheader between the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners. The doubleheader had been scheduled because Friday's home opener in Cleveland was postponed.


_{Small snow figures built by fans sit atop the visitors' dugout at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday.}

In Nashville, Tennessee, a forecast low of 22 degrees Sunday would beat the current record set on March 24, 1940, when the morning temperature was 24 degrees.

"We're going to be in record territory, for sure," said Jim Moser, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Nashville.

Farmers were worried about the impact the weather could have on crops. Blueberries could be particularly affected, said Stanley Scarborough, production manager of Sunnyridge Farms, which has fields in Baxley and Homerville, Georgia.

[img width=291 height=320]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/US/04/07/cold.snap.ap/vt1.2050.weather.ap.jpg[/img]


Scarborough said the majority of the state's blueberry crop, a variety called rabbit-eye, is normally harvested around June 1. This year, the bushes bloomed early because of a heat wave last week. Scarborough said the blueberries are not able to withstand freezing.

"At 26 or 27 degrees, you would probably lose half of the Georgia crop," valued at $20 million to $25 million, Scarborough said.

In Alabama, growers scrambled to protect early blooming peach orchards. State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks said if temperatures stay at 28 to 29 degrees for two hours, there could be "very severe" damage to the crop.

"If we stay there for four hours, we could possibly lose the peach crop," he said.

_{Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.}

_{Jamie Sulgrove, 12, makes a snow man in his front yard after an unusual April snowfall in Crawford, Texas Saturday, April 7, 2007. (AP)}

(AP) An unseasonable cold snap put a chill on Easter Sunday services across the Southeast and much of the rest of America, moving some events indoors and adding layers over spring frocks.


_{Even baseball had to take a time out — because of snow.Umpire Rick Reed laughs with Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd after snow delayed the baseball game between the Indians and the Seattle Mariners, Friday, April 6, 2007, in Cleveland. (AP)}

The usual courtyard service at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Columbia, South Carolina, had to be moved indoors, said the Rev. Michael Bingham. Sunday morning lows in Columbia dropped to the upper 20s Fahrenheit, the National Weather Service said.

"Our musicians are worried about their fingers," he said Saturday as the church's plans were being changed.


_{Visitors to the Tidal Basin near the National Mall, walk underneath the cherry blossoms decorated in snow after overnight snow Saturday, April 7, 2007, in Washington. (AP)}

Across much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation, Easter celebrants swapped frills, bonnets and sandals for coats, scarves and heavy socks. Baseball fans huddled in blankets and, instead of spring planting, backyard gardeners were bundling their crops.

Two weeks into spring, Easter morning temperatures were in the upper 30s along the Gulf Coast and in the single digits in northern Minnesota and the Dakotas. Atlanta had a low of 30 degrees, the weather service said. The same reading put a chill on New York City's Fifth Avenue, celebrated in song for the traditional Easter Parade of spring finery.


_{Snow piles up inside the tulips April 5, 2007, in Hutchinson, Kansas. (AP Photo/The Hutchinson News)}

Despite the chill, nearly 1,000 people attended the annual sunrise service at Georgia's Stone Mountain Park, as a slight breeze whipped over the granite monument. The service usually attracts 10,000.

Nashville, Tennessee, bottomed out Sunday at 23 degrees, knocking one degree off the Easter Sunday record set on March 24, 1940.

Light snow showers were scattered over the western Plains and around the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.

However, the snow was heavy along the Lake Erie shore in Cleveland and on Sunday, for the second day in a row, the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians had to cancel a doubleheader.

The teams were snowed out of the doubleheader on Saturday, when they were attempting to make up Friday's game, which was postponed after they played four innings and sat through nearly three hours of delays.


_{Snow covers the ground April 5, 2007, on a farm near Ellsworth, in Kansas, where there are concerns about possible damage to the wheat crop. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)}

Officials in Morrison, Colorado, canceled Sunday's annual sunrise service at the Red Rocks Amphitheater because seats and stairways were covered with ice.

Visitors to the nation's capital awoke Saturday to see cherry blossoms coated with snow. Snow also fell in metro Atlanta Friday night, and even in parts of West Texas and the Texas Panhandle.

© MMVII The Associated Press/CBsNEWS.com

Grote delen van New England (het noordoosten van de Verenigde Staten) beleven een witte Pasen. Plaatselijk ligt er 40 centimeter verse sneeuw.

De sneeuw heeft gezorgd voor een ontregeld maatschappelijk leven. Wegen zijn onbegaanbaar, één persoon kwam om het leven bij een verkeersongeluk en 200.000 mensen raakten verstoken van elektriciteit. Donderdag viel de sneeuw al. In New Hampshire viel in enkele uren tijd 40 centimeter.

Ook in Michigan viel sneeuw. In het noorden van de staat viel in één etmaal 60 centimeter sneeuw. Deze hoeveelheid benaderde voor deze regio het vorige dagrecord van 14 maart 1997, toen er 26 centimeter viel.

Volgens de nationale weerdienst is sprake van een sneeuwrijke aprilmaand. Vooral de hoeveelheden zijn bijzonder te nomen.

©vwkweb.nl