AP

An area of cloudiness associated with a cold front stretches from New England through the Gulf of Mexico in this NOAA satellite image taken Monday.

The eastern two-thirds of the mainland United States were set for more winter weather on Monday with a cold front set to bring temperatures of up to 20 degrees below normal, forecasters said.

The weather warmed up over the weekend but the arrival of April was set to see temperatures plunge once again, according to the National Weather Service. It warned there was “a slight risk of severe thunderstorms” in parts of the Texas Panhandle.

Baseball fans heading to several opening-day games were advised to dress for the conditions.

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Weather.com also warned there was a chance of thunderstorms in Florida and parts of the Gulf Coast, and a chance of severe storms in southern Georgia.

The National Weather Service said it would feel like winter for much of the country.

“The brief warm-up that brought temperatures to near normal for parts of the central and eastern U.S. over the weekend will quickly come to an end,” the National Weather Service said on its website.

“A strong cold front will bring much colder temperatures to the northern U.S. by Monday and to the eastern U.S. by Tuesday,” it said.

“Temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below normal, and will be reminiscent of winter for the eastern two thirds of the country,” it added.

Weather.com’s temperature map showed much of the country turning blue into Tuesday, with temperatures forecast to be as low as 2 degrees in Minnesota, 22 in northern New England, 29 in Kansas, and 34 in Tennessee.

Chris Dolce, of weather.com, joked that “you would think we were playing a cruel April Fools' Day joke as we look at the forecast to start out the upcoming work week.”

"A cold front is starting to usher in yet another blast of late-season arctic air that will charge into the central and eastern states … of course, this only piles on to the misery of what has been a frustrating cold March east of the Rockies,” he said.

He said that fans heading to opening-day Major League Baseball games would need to bundle up in Minneapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

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Pint-sized sluggers in the town of Atwood, Ill., may have one of America’s best-selling firearms to thank when they step up to the plate this summer: The local youth baseball league is raffling an AR-15 rifle to raise funds for new equipment.

The response has been “tremendous,” said Charidy Butcher, co-owner of the Atwood Armory shop, which donated the gun for auction.  “I’ve gotten calls from every state in the country.”

The Rock River Arms Tactical Operator 2 AR-15 rifle that her store has put up was made by an Illinois firearms manufacturer, Butcher said. “It’s one of the hottest on the market right now,” she said. “They’re almost impossible to get your hands on.”

The raffle has already raised about $1,600 in two days, Butcher said – far outpacing last year’s raffle, which raised just $10.

"That's not counting the hundreds upon hundreds of people who have called in asking how they can send in their check for the raffle," Butcher said.

The most successful fundraiser in recent memory raised only $600, the league commissioner said.

“I’m loving it,” said Atwood-Hammond league commissioner Steven McClain. “A lot of people are saying it’s a political stunt, but it’s not.”

The team league is not affiliated with the Little League International, McClain said. Between 100 and 150 children participate in the league every year, he said.

“We’re not funded by anybody,” McClain said. “We don’t have any outside funds. We knock on doors to get sponsors from our local businesses and we’re self-sufficient.”

The rural town of Atwood had a population of about 1,200 in 2011, according to census statistics.

Both McClain and Butcher said they have young children who play ball in the league. All proceeds from the auction will go directly to the youth league, Butcher said.

Whoever holds the winning ticket will have to undergo a full background check, according to local NBC affiliate WAND.

The "Field of Dreams," a nearly 200-acre parcel of Iowa land made famous in the 1989 Kevin Costner film of the same name, will live on and give young people a lesson in life.

An investment group led by Oak Lawn, Iowa-based couple Denise and Mark Stillman closed the deal last week after more than two and a half years.

Denise Stillman on Wednesday recalled the moment she told her husband they should buy the property.

"[It was] over pizza by a swimming pool the night that he told me it was for sale. I said we should build a Cooperstown facility like that at the 'Field of Dreams' movie site," she recalled.

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In the future, the site will be a sprawling complex built specifically for youth sports, including 24 baseball diamonds and 60 clubhouses.

"We're going to do things like build a summer camp where kids from the inner city came come to Iowa and learn about how to be a great human being through sports," she added.

Costner's 'favorite place on Earth'
There are some eerie coincidences between the film and the site's real-life purchase.

"We've actually talked about the similarity between the movie and real life except the tables are turned in the genders. The wife is that one that's proverbially the crazy one," Stillman said with a laugh.

She said she knew convincing her husband wouldn't be difficult, recalling their early days together in college at Bradley University.

"['Field of Dreams'] came out on tape and we watched it in the dorm and he cried, so I thought he was pretty OK," she said.

Stillman also has the support of actor Kevin Costner. She said the star lauded her effort and thanked her for keeping the dream alive.

"He just chuckled and said, 'I'm so glad that someone is saving that. It's my favorite place on Earth,'" Stillman said.

The first phase of the $40 million project should be complete in the spring of 2014. Stillman said youth baseball teams from as far away as California and Florida are already signed up to compete in tournaments.

Dave Kettering / Debuque Telegraph Herald file via AP

People enjoy the "Field of Dreams" baseball field in rural Dyersville, Iowa.

“Field of Dreams” is one of the few movies that actually moved me to tears when I saw it in the theater. I know it’s corny, but it still does. I can’t stop myself from watching whenever I run across it while channel surfing late-night television. Who can resist ghosts, baseball and believing in the impossible?

It appears that the town where the movie was shot continues to wrestle with one of the central questions of the movie. Dyersville, Iowa is considering a $38 million plan to turn the farmland around the famous cornfield diamond into a marquee destination for traveling youth baseball teams. While the plan could provide an economic lift to the region, it also has unleashed an emotional battle as the town of 4,000 tries to decide if they should build it.

From the City of Dyersville website:

In 1982, screenwriter Phil Robinson became interested in the novel "Shoeless Joe."  He recognized the potential for this heartwarming story and looked for a setting for the film.  In the early months of 1988, Robinson came upon the Lansing farm near Dyersville and said, "That's it!  That's my farm!"  The movie produced was called "The Field of Dreams," starring Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones.  Today the site is well maintained and visited by many baseball enthusiasts.

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Greg Halman gives the safe sign after he was called out even though shortstop Alex Gonzalez of the Atlanta Braves dropped the ball attempting to turn a double play at Safeco Field on June 28, 2011.

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands -- Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death in Rotterdam on Monday and his brother has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Halman, 24, was signed as a free agent by Seattle in 2004 and after a long spell in the minor leagues he was called up to the majors last year.

"A 24-year-old died this morning in a stabbing and we have arrested the 22-year-old brother of the victim," a Rotterdam police spokesman told Reuters.

NOS-TV said Halman's family had confirmed his death.

The Dutchman helped the Netherlands win the 2007 European Baseball Championship.

When not playing for the Mariners, Halman had helped boost baseball in Europe by holding coaching clinics with youngsters.

Halman hit .230 with two home runs and six RBIs in 35 games with the Mariners last season.

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