Storm systems likely to disrupt Thanksgiving travel

(imran) News@GWM
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Storm systems likely to disrupt Thanksgiving travel

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A series of storms are poised to strike a large portion of the U.S. this week — including the heavily populated Northeast, likely causing Thanksgiving holiday travel disruptions for some 54.4 million people.

The big picture: Severe weather on Monday sparked powerful thunderstorms from eastern Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley and reports of tornadoes, and a storm system was set to move from the southern Plains to the Northeast U.S. through Wednesday.

By the numbers: The National Weather Service received five reports of tornadoes as of early Tuesday after issuing tornado warnings for an area spanning from Louisiana to Mississippi.

  • It also received 12 reports of wind damage and three of large hail in this region by Tuesday morning.

What to expect: One storm could bring heavy rain, strong winds, severe thunderstorms and other weather impacts to the eastern two-thirds of the country over the next few days.

  • On its heels, a second storm is likely to dive southward out of Canada and spread snow across the Plains and Rockies.
  • Major air travel hubs like Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston and New Orleans may see inclement weather as the system moves east.
  • The low-pressure system sparked severe thunderstorms from eastern Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley, according to an NWS forecast discussion.

What they’re saying: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at a briefing Monday that “we can’t control the weather, we will also be using every tool at our disposal to keep cancellations and delays as low as possible in the first place, including working collaboratively with the airlines.”

Tuesday outlook:

  • The precipitation was expected to bring the threat of thunderstorms across the Lower Mississippi Valley/Central Gulf Coastal region tonight into Tuesday, according to the NWS.
  • The system was forecast to bring rain and some thunderstorms across much of the Eastern U.S. Tuesday.
  • Parts of the Midwest and interior New England could receive wet snow, which may accumulate in the higher elevations of New Hampshire and Maine.
  • Parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia are forecast to see strong thunderstorms.
  • The inclement weather could disrupt flights for the estimated 2.6 million people attempting to fly on Tuesday, mainly due to poor visibility and strong winds.

Wednesday outlook:

  • The system could still be lingering over the East Coast on Wednesday, but it should start heading out into the Atlantic Ocean during the day.
  • The American Automobile Association projects Wednesday will be the busiest day on the roads for Thanksgiving travel.

Beyond Wednesday:

  • Another storm is forecast to drop south-southeast out of Canada later in the week, bringing heavy snows to parts of the Rockies and Plains, potentially including Denver, which is a major hub for air travel.

Go deeper: Earth likely briefly passed critical warming threshold on Friday

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with the latest details on the storm system and comment from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Andrew Freedman contributed to this story.



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