GRAND CANYON
So much for that warm, sunny Memorial Day vacation to the Grand Canyon.

Clear views of America's most beautiful ditch were briefly interrupted by something rarely seen this late in the year -- snow. Light snow began falling in the morning, lasting for several hours, dusting the Grand Canyon.

'It's common for snow to fall in Flagstaff in April and May, but to have accumulating snow after May 26th is quite unusual," said the National Weather Service's office in Flagstaff, Arizona

In fact, "it's only happened 8 times since we've been keeping records," the NWS Flagstaff office said.



Flagstaff is about an hour south of Grand Canyon National Park, where about 5.9 million tourists visit every year.

The snow turned into rain in the afternoon, forecasters said.

As if that's not enough, tourists will also encounter an "unusually cold weather system."

Winds gusted to 30 mph and the temperature failed to reach 50 degrees, according to CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward.

It's not the only crazy weather this Memorial Day. Across the country, about 50 million people were at risk of severe weather Monday.

CNN's Darran Simon contributed to this report.