Winter storm moving east to cap holiday weekend
A troublesome combination of heavy rain, ice, snow and strong winds will hamper travelers making their way home from their Thanksgiving destinations this weekend as a large storm slowly navigates its way across the central United States.
As if a storm at the start of the busy Thanksgiving travel period was not enough, the second major storm this week will add to travel stress on the roads and at the airports.
A swath of heavy snow is forecast to extend from the Rockies in New Mexico and Colorado to the Plains of the Dakotas to areas surrounding Lake Superior in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Snowfall in much of this swath will range from 6 to 12 inches. However, about 1 to 2 feet of snow is forecast to fall from northeastern Wyoming to southeastern Montana, southern North Dakota and northwestern and central South Dakota, as well as northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.
An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 36 inches is forecast for the Black Hills of South Dakota.
The snow will fall simultaneously over a nearly 2,000-mile-long swath from the Rockies to the Upper Midwest during Friday night and Saturday.
Wintry conditions are in store along a 1,000-mile-long stretch of heavy snow along Interstates 90 and 94 alone. Blizzard conditions can occur in part of this swath. The visibility could be so low at times it may be difficult to determine where the road surface actually is.
Travel should be avoided in these areas until the storm leaves and crews have had a chance to clear roads of deep snow by Sunday or Monday. However, drifting snow in part of this swath can be a problem through Sunday, due to high winds.
Farther south, a pocket of ice will create dangerous conditions for a time.
