A car drives on a snowy road in Sioux City, Iowa on Saturday.
Jared McNutt/Sioux City Journal via AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Jared McNutt/Sioux City Journal via AP
The winter storm is causing travel headaches across much of the country as millions of people return home from the Thanksgiving holiday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said Saturday that the storm will spread into the Midwest and Great Lakes regions over the weekend with “widespread heavy snowfall and hazardous travel conditions” across the central and northern Plains.
Winter storm warnings and advisories are in effect from South Dakota to parts of Ohio — the storm has dropped up to 8 inches of snow in some places since Thursday, according to the NWS.
“Snowfall in excess of 1″/hour is expected, particularly during the day Saturday, bringing the total number of storms between 6-12,” the NWS said Saturday morning. “The combination of heavy snowfall rates with strong winds will create hazardous travel conditions due to limited visibility and snow-covered roads.”
More than 800 flights to and from Chicago O’Hare International Airport were canceled Saturday, according to FlightAware. More than 500 flights were delayed in and out of the airport.
According to AAA, about 82 million people were projected to travel at least 50 miles for the holidays, with 6 million expected to travel by plane.
Car crashes related to the winter storm were also reported, with the Missouri State Highway Patrol posting on social media Saturday morning that it was investigating at least nine crashes in the central part of the state. Officials are warning travelers to stay off the roads.
“As snow continues to make its way across Missouri, continue to delay your travel in the most weather-impacted areas if possible,” the Missouri Department of Transportation said in a social media post.
This NOAA graphic shows the winter weather forecast for parts of the US from Saturday through Sunday morning.
NOAA/NWS
hide caption
toggle caption
NOAA/NWS
While much of North and Central America will see snow and ice from Saturday to Sunday, parts of Texas and Louisiana may be at risk of heavy rain and isolated flooding.
A new storm system that developed on Monday is forecast to spread up the East Coast on Tuesday, bringing heavy snowfall to the northern Mid-Atlantic and New England, including Pennsylvania and Maine. According to NWS meteorologist Andrew Orrison, it will also bring heavy rain to the Southeast. He said Monday would be the best day for those returning home from holidays.
“Travel conditions will worsen on Tuesday as rainfall will have widespread impacts,” Orrison told NPR. “And also, if you go far enough north, areas where snow is falling will accumulate.”
The weather-related delays coincide with disruptions caused by mandatory software upgrades on Airbus A320 aircraft.
Airbus on Friday asked airlines to take immediate action to upgrade software on planes, warning that there could be a problem with flight controls. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency directive Friday night requiring airlines that use the A320 to upgrade software before the planes can fly again. The upgrade should be complete by 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
Several airlines, including American and United, told NPR Friday night that they have begun upgrading software on affected planes and are working to minimize flight delays.
<a href