Winter weather threatening holiday travel across the U.S. this weekend

Around 53 million people from Montana to New York are under winter weather alerts this weekend as travelers head home from Thanksgiving festivities.

A winter storm system is expected to intensify Saturday morning, bringing steady snow showers and creating potentially hazardous travel conditions across Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Detroit and Roanoke, Virginia are a few of the cities at risk through the weekend.

Snow showers will continue to fall over parts of the Midwest all day Saturday, with the most intense snowfall of 1 to 2 inches per hour expected in the afternoon and evening. Combined with 35 mph wind gusts, travel will be very difficult across the region.

Snow will gradually fade overnight, with a few lingering snow showers hugging Lake Michigan by Sunday morning. Highest snowfall totals will target parts of Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, northern Indiana, and Michigan where 6 to 14 inches will be possible through early Sunday.

Snow-covered trees and a snow flurry seen in video on social media transformed Iowa City into a Winter Wonderland Saturday morning.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, snowfall totals include 10 inches in Janesville, Iowa, 8 inches in Hannibal, Missouri and 6 inches in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Passengers with suitcases.

More than 3,100 flights traveling into, within and from the U.S. on Saturday morning were delayed, and 1,130 were canceled, according to FlightAware.com. A majority of these cancellations were at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, where more than 820 flights have been canceled and almost 570 delayed.

A ground delay of over four hours was issued at the airport Saturday morning due to snow or ice and is expected to persist until Sunday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

46 million under winter weather alerts as heavy snow threatens post-Thanksgiving travel

“Snow continues to spread across the area and is accumulating on roads,” the National Weather Service field office in Chicago said Saturday. “Expect conditions to continue to deteriorate through the afternoon with peak snow rates expected between 12 PM and 8 PM today. If traveling use caution and be prepared for slippery travel!”

Rain in the South

In the South, rain showers are anticipated across the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley and Southern Plains. There is a Marginal Risk for severe weather across eastern Texas and Louisiana, where a storm or two may produce damaging wind gusts over 65 mph, 1-inch hail, lightning and a tornado or two. Houston, Dallas, and Austin are included in this threat, where travel delays at local airports may be an issue.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport had over 430 flight delays as of Saturday afternoon and 61 cancellations, according to FlightAware.com.

The line of rain and snow showers will shift into the eastern third of the country by Sunday. Snow will hug the Interior Northeast, Appalachians and northern New England while rain is anticipated from the Mid-Atlantic through the Southeast.

No severe weather is expected, but wet roads could slow down travel in major cities like Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Charlotte and Atlanta. Rain will gradually come to an end by Sunday night as the line moves offshore, with snow showers lingering along the eastern Great Lakes into early Monday. Snowfall totals in this area will range from 2 to 8 inches.

A cold week ahead

Cold Canadian air will filter in behind this storm system, with highs dropping 15 to 30 degrees below average throughout the Plains and the Rocky Mountains this weekend. Daytime highs will only make it into the single digits and teens across the Northern Plains, and 20s to 30s across the Midwest.

Overnight lows the next couple of nights will dip as low as the -10s across the Northern Plains. Despite this chill, only a few overnight record lows will be threatened in Quincy, Illinois and Burlington, Iowa.

This cold air will expand through the upcoming week, with highs through Friday ranging 10 to 25 degrees below average along and east of the Rockies.