A significant winter storm is set to disrupt Thanksgiving holiday travel across the majority of the United States, bringing heavy snow, rain, and bitterly cold temperatures throughout the weekend.
Winter storm warnings were issued on Friday, stretching from Montana to New York, with the National Weather Service forecasting substantial snowfall, particularly impacting the Great Lakes region.
Parts of Iowa and Illinois are expected to bear the brunt, with accumulations of six to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimetres) anticipated from Friday night through Saturday night. Despite the heavy falls, meteorologists noted that forecast conditions did not meet blizzard warning criteria, which require winds of at least 35 mph (56 kph), visibilities under a quarter mile (400 metres), and a duration exceeding three hours.
The storm, which had already brought snow to the northern Plains and Great Lakes, continued its sweep. Over a foot of snow was expected downwind of Lake Superior, Erie, and Ontario, as well as in central New York state. Dangerous snow squalls, bringing rapid bursts of heavy snow and whiteout conditions, were also predicted for the interior Northeast.
Further west, the Pacific Northwest and Rockies braced for a mix of snow and rain on Friday, though conditions were expected to ease in the Rockies and northern Plains by Saturday, shifting to the Midwest. To the south, heavy storms and potential flash flooding were forecast for the western Gulf Coast on Saturday.
Temperatures plummeted well below average across the eastern and central US. Highs on Friday were expected to be in the 20s and 30s Fahrenheit in the Midwest, 30s and 40s in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, and 40s and 50s in the Southeast. The adverse weather on Thanksgiving itself had already led to numerous vehicle crashes in western Michigan.
