As some Americans emerge from their holiday food coma and hobble to the nation’s airports and highways, they may discover that their biggest holiday indigestion has nothing to do with pie. A powerful storm is on the way home, threatening to upend post-turkey travel plans.
A storm that moved through the Rockies on Friday has turned into a full-blown cross-country storm that could bring heavy rain and several inches of snow to more than 1,000 miles of the country this weekend.
The storm also opens the door to a new wave of frigid, frigid air that will cause temperatures to plummet for millions of people just before the calendar turns to December.
Pre-holiday weather has already proven deadly in Minnesota. A 69-year-old man was crushed to death by a snow-covered tree in high winds Wednesday morning in Alden Township, about 190 miles northeast of Minneapolis, CNN affiliate WCCO reported, citing the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.
This storm after Turkey Day could pose similar dangers.
The storm moved into the Pacific Northwest on Thursday night and passed through the Rocky Mountains on Friday. Snow will begin falling in parts of the northern Rockies and northern Plains early in the day and will continue as the storm mixes with wintry air.
The center of the storm is expected to move into the Plains region by early Saturday morning and strengthen throughout the day toward the Midwest. A mixture of snow, rain and even ice will spread across much of the central part of the country.
Rain is expected to fall on the south side of the storm, while snow is expected to fall on the north side, moving north through Nebraska, Kansas and the Midwest. Some areas near the transition between most of the snow and most of the rain will be dealing with an ice mix for some time. As the storm strengthens, so will the winds.
Areas east of the Mississippi River will have to deal with Sunday’s storm, which will bring snow to the Great Lakes, rain to the South and a blast of arctic air to the center of the country on the backside.
The storm will move away from the East Coast early Monday morning.
Widespread snowfall is expected to end November from the Rocky Mountains to Appalachia, making it the first storm to accomplish this feat so far this season.
Heavy snow is expected across the Midwest over the weekend. Large areas of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan are expected to receive more than 6 inches of snow over the next few days.
If more than 8 inches of snow accumulates in the Chicago area from early Saturday morning to early Sunday morning, it could be the city’s heaviest two-day period since January 2021. The heaviest snowfall in Chicago is likely on Saturday, wreaking havoc on air travel from O’Hare and Midway and potentially severely disrupting area road travel.
Parts of eastern Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, and far northwestern Illinois could see snow totals of more than a foot. Heavy snow can fall in these areas, making travel nearly impossible.
A mix of wet and frozen snow is possible from parts of Kansas and Nebraska east to central Illinois and parts of Indiana. Difficult driving conditions are easy to find when it’s snowing, but slippery or slippery roads are often harder to find and more dangerous to drive on.
Rain may also disrupt vacation travel south of snowy areas. Rain and a few thunderstorms could cause localized flash flooding in parts of the South starting Saturday.
Parts of eastern Texas, including Houston, and western Louisiana could experience flooding problems Saturday.
Rain will move east on Sunday. This rain is unlikely to cause flash flooding issues, but could cause speed reductions for those driving in the area.
It was already cold in some parts of the U.S. on Friday, and even colder weather is expected to arrive this weekend.
Another significant drop in temperatures will begin in the Rocky Mountains and Plains regions on Saturday as arctic air rushes into the United States on the back of the storm. High temperatures can be in the teens to low 20s as far south as Nebraska.
Temperatures will drop to frigid levels overnight and into early Sunday morning. Low temperatures will be in the single digits across much of the north-central United States, with temperatures as far as north Texas dipping below freezing.
High temperatures on Sunday will be 15 to 20 degrees below normal for much of the central United States. High temperatures could remain well below freezing in some parts of the Midwest, potentially nearly 30 degrees colder than normal.
The cold air is expected to spread eastward, with nighttime lows expected to be at or below freezing in much of southern Florida. Parts of Montana, the Dakotas, and the upper Midwest could wake up to temperatures several degrees below freezing on Monday, December 1st.
December marks the beginning of meteorological winter, which is December to February. It will feel that way in the first week of the season. Monday and Tuesday will remain very cold for millions of people until temperatures begin to approach normal in midweek.
The upcoming arctic outburst could be a harbinger of an even deeper cold snap in December due to the collapse of the polar vortex.
