Winds of 150 km/h were reported in the Sierra Nevada mountains on the California-Nevada border, with more than a foot (30 cm) of new snow falling. A winter weather warning is in effect for northern Arizona and New Mexico through Monday.
The storm is expected to make its impact felt across the northern states of the country, from Montana, Minnesota and Wisconsin to northeastern New Hampshire and Maine with a large blanket of snow. Heavy snowfall is expected in the Northeast, with up to 2 feet (60 cm) of fresh snow in some places.
In other Northeastern states, a cold front brought rain Saturday, and flood warnings were issued for parts of New York and elsewhere.
Several flights were canceled at New York City airports on Saturday.
The cold front also affected the Washington, D.C., area, where peak temperatures, despite the sunshine, did not exceed 10 degrees on Sunday, and locals experienced severe frost in the early morning hours.
Meteorologists noted that although a serious winter storm is unusual for spring, the central and northern states of Minnesota and Wisconsin experienced their mildest winter on record this year.
Rainy weather over the weekend helped combat a large-scale wildfire in the Virginia mountains. The fires started during extremely dry, windy weather last week in the Appalachian Mountains near the Shenandoah River Valley.
