A powerful winter storm is snarling travel across much of the central and northern United States as millions head home after Thanksgiving. The system, moving out of the Plains and into the Midwest and Great Lakes, is expected to bring widespread heavy snow and hazardous travel conditions, the National Weather Service said.
Warnings and advisories stretch from South Dakota into parts of Ohio. Some areas have already received as much as 8 inches of snow since Thursday. Snowfall rates could top 1 inch per hour at times, producing storm totals of 6 to 12 inches in many locations. Gusty winds combined with heavy snow are reducing visibility and leaving roads snow-covered and dangerous.
Air travel has been hit particularly hard. FlightAware reported more than 800 cancellations to and from Chicago O’Hare on Saturday and more than 500 delays. AAA estimated nearly 82 million people would travel at least 50 miles over the holiday weekend, with roughly 6 million of them flying.
State troopers documented weather-related crashes as well. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said it was investigating at least nine crashes in central Missouri on Saturday morning. Officials urged motorists to avoid travel in the hardest-hit areas, and the Missouri Department of Transportation advised delaying trips while the heaviest snow moves through.
The storm is expected to produce snow and icy conditions across the northern and central U.S. through Sunday, while parts of Texas and Louisiana could see heavy rain and isolated flooding. A new system forecast to develop Monday is predicted to reach the East Coast by Tuesday, bringing heavy snow to the northern mid-Atlantic and New England, including Pennsylvania and Maine, and heavy rain to the Southeast. NWS meteorologist Andrew Orrison said Monday would be the best day for holiday travelers, with more widespread and worse impacts expected on Tuesday, including accumulating snow in northern areas.
Complicating travel further were mandatory software upgrades for Airbus A320 aircraft. Airbus told airlines Friday to immediately install a flight-control software update, and the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency directive requiring the upgrade before affected A320s may fly, with a deadline of 12:01 a.m. Sunday. Several carriers, including American and United, began the upgrades and worked to minimize delays.