Snowstorm to hinder post-Thanksgiving travel from Plains to Midwest, including Chicago
A weekend winter storm will bring heavy snow to some areas of the Plains and Midwest with snow covered roads and travel distruptions as millions head home after Thanksgiving.
AccuWeather’s Ariella Scalese says new storms will bring rain and snow to parts of the Midwest and Northeast, affecting travel after Thanksgiving as millions return home across the U.S.
Have the shovels and snow tires ready in areas from Colorado to Michigan, as a snowstorm is expected to take shape by the weekend and is poised to impact approximately 50 million residents. The storm could cause major travel delays for people returning home by road, rail and air after Thanksgiving.
Aircraft and crews displaced by the storm in the Midwest may create ripple effects nationwide, resulting in flight delays and cancellations.
The storm’s fast movement and average strength are expected to limit the potential for excessive snowfall. However, a large area is forecast to receive 6-12 inches of snow.
Heavy snow is projected from southeastern South Dakota through Iowa, southern Minnesota, northwestern Illinois and southern and central Wisconsin into the central and northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
Des Moines, Iowa; Madison, Wisconsin; and Grand Rapids, Michigan; are within the storm's current projected path of heavy snow. The heavy snow is likely to come close to the Chicago area. A northward shift in the storm's track could result in heavy snow in Minneapolis, rather than just a nuisance snowfall.
Snow is expected to arrive in Denver on Friday night, bringing the city's first measurable amount of the season, occurring significantly later than Denver's historical average first snowfall in mid-October.
From central Missouri to central Ohio and into western New York, rain will fall during the height of the storm, reducing storm-total snowfall. Several inches of snow and slippery travel are possible before the change to rain, with some snow returning late in the storm, followed by a rapid drop in temperatures that may lead to icy conditions.
A mix of snow, sleet and rain is forecast at times for a corridor from Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri to Buffalo, New York and Cleveland.
A brief period of snow or a mix of snow, sleet and rain is likely later this weekend across parts of the Northeast, including the eastern Great Lakes region, the Appalachians in Pennsylvania, southern and eastern New York and northern and central New England. Enough may fall to make stretches slippery, including along interstates 80, 81 and 90.
On the storm's southern side where the air is warmer, severe thunderstorms are possible Saturday afternoon and night across northeastern Texas, western Louisiana and southern Arkansas.
Thunderstorms may also occur in parts of the Southeast Sunday.
Monitoring a potential snowfall in the South and East early next week
Colder air is forecast to move into parts of the central and eastern U.S. behind the weekend storm, and the extent of that cold will help determine the track of the next storm from Monday to Tuesday night capable of producing snow.
That new storm is expected to track farther south and east than this weekend’s storm.
A period of accumulating snow or ice is possible from central Kansas through portions of the Ohio Valley and the Appalachians and potentially within a couple of dozen miles of the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts. Ice or snow is also possible farther south, in places like the Ozarks in Missouri and Arkansas and the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia.
AccuWeather will continue to provide updates on next week's snow situation in the days ahead.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Report a Typo
