Thanksgiving winter storm puts millions on alert in Northeast for heavy snow, rain threatening holiday travel
The National Weather Service issued Winter Storm Warnings for portions of the Northeast and New England with forecast totals of 6-12 inches in the higher elevations. Meanwhile, a soggy Thanksgiving is on tap for the I-95 corridor.
Coast-to-coast storm threatens to snarl Thanksgiving travel in the Northeast
A storm racing across the nation's Heartland Wednesday will strengthen as it moves into the Northeast early Thanksgiving Day bringing a soggy holiday along the I-95 corridor while more snow comes to the interior Northeast.
A powerful winter storm packing heavy snow, rain and even severe weather is set to snarl Thanksgiving travel in the eastern half of the U.S. to start the holiday weekend, then smack the area with an arctic blast that threatens a significant lake-effect snowstorm near the Great Lakes.
As an opening act, the storm spent Wednesday blanketing parts of the Rockies with heavy snow that led to some traffic headaches in Colorado and Utah, but celebrations at ski resorts ahead of the holiday.
The storm emerged into the Plains on Wednesday afternoon, and by Wednesday night, the system will zoom through the Midwest and Ohio Valley.
This graphic provides an overview of a powerful winter storm that will impact the eastern half of the U.S. on Thanksgiving, including heavy snow and rain in the Northeast and severe weather in the Southeast.
(FOX Weather)
Mostly rain is expected in the Midwest, but temperatures may fall enough to produce snow in a narrow band stretching from central Illinois to central Ohio. Those areas could see about an inch or so, but it may not be quite cold enough for it to stick on major roadways.
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Snow becomes more widespread on Thanksgiving Day in the interior Northeast
Snowfall will become more widespread as the developing system sweeps into the Northeast on Thanksgiving Day and pulls in some colder air from Canada.
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(FOX Weather)
Temperatures overall will still remain mild enough that snowfall will be limited to the interior Northeast, and totals aren't expected to be as significant as last week's winter storm, which dumped as much as 17-20 inches in portions of upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey. But the FOX Forecast Center said the snow is expected to be heavy and wet, which will significantly slow travel in the higher terrain of the Northeast and may even lead to power outages.
The heaviest snow is expected across the mountainous areas of the Catskills, Poconos, Adirondacks and Green and White Mountains, particularly at elevations higher than 1,500 feet.
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(FOX Weather)
The National Weather Service issued Winter Storm Warnings for portions of the Northeast and New England, including portions of upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
NWS forecasters predicted as much as 12 inches of snow in the higher elevations of the area inside the Winter Storm Warnings, and up to 6 inches in areas covered by the Winter Weather Advisories. The NWS office in Albany, New York, warned drivers about dangerous driving conditions across portions of the Mohawk Valley, the eastern Catskills, and the Helderberg Mountains.
Cities like Syracuse, Buffalo, Binghamton and Albany in New York are also expected to see some snow, and travel along busy interstates like I-81, I-87, I-88, I-90 and I-91 could all see deteriorating road conditions.
To the south of the snow, steady rain will be falling across the mid-Atlantic and southern New England, which will impact any last-minute travelers flying into and out of the region, especially in cities along the busy Interstate 95 corridor in Boston, New York City and Philadelphia.
Revelers looking to watch New York City's iconic Thanksgiving Day parade will likely be doing so amid a chilly rain.
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Severe weather possible in the Southeast
(FOX Weather)
The FOX Forecast Center will also be keeping its eye on the Southeast, where there is the potential for severe weather.
A cold front associated with the coast-to-coast storm will sweep through the region, and that could trigger the development of strong to severe thunderstorms.
The main threat from storms that develop will be damaging wind gusts, but there is also the possibility of some tornadoes.
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As the Thanksgiving Day winter storm exits the Northeast, it will pull in even colder, arctic air from Canada, and it will extend to the south, potentially as far as the Southeast. By Friday, over 230 million Americans will be shivering in below-average temperatures.
The cold air will rush over record-warm Great Lakes, triggering a potential a significant and multi-day lake-effect snow event along Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the eastern shores of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and Lake Michigan. Buffalo is under a Winter Storm Watch starting Saturday.
Snow piles up at ski resorts in the Rockies
Watch: Time-lapse video shows snow piling up at Colorado ski resort
A time-lapse video recorded at the Aspen Snowmass Ski Resort in Snowmass, Colorado, shows the snow piling up as a powerful winter storm moved through on Tuesday. The ski resort received a whopping 22 inches of snow in only 24 hours, and has reported three feet of snow in the past week alone.
Snow gets frowns from travelers, but cheers at ski resorts in Utah and Colorado as well over a foot of snow fell at many resorts.
A video shared by the Aspen Snowmass Ski Resort in Snowmass Village, Colorado, showed the snow piling up as the winter storm slammed the region. Twenty-two inches of snow fell in just 24 hours, and at least 3 feet of snow has been reported there in the past week alone.
Heavy snow covers the ground in Vail, Colorado on Nov. 27, 2024.
(Colorado State Patrol)
On the flip side, another video showed the treacherous driving conditions across Colorado while the storm was impacting the state.
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The video shows snow-covered roads and vehicles crawling along at slow speeds as snow fell in Summit County.
Watch: Treacherous driving conditions reported in Colorado
A video shared from Summit County in Colorado showed how treacherous the driving conditions were as snow fell across the region on Tuesday. A powerful coast-to-coast storm is dumping snow in the West and is expected to lead to travel troubles across the eastern U.S. on Thanksgiving.
Over in El Paso County, a man was killed when he was struck by a truck in the aftermath of another crash on Interstate 25, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Roads were wet but not snowy at the time, and troopers are still investigating whether weather had any factor in the crash.
The Utah Department of Transportation also shared a video that showed snowplows hard at work clearing roads in Daniels Summit outside Herber City on Tuesday morning.
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Watch: Plows hard at work clearing snowy Utah roads
The Utah Department of Transportation shared a video showing plows hard at work clearing snow from roads. The storm is expected to move into the Plains on Wednesday and will move into the eastern half of the U.S. by Thanksgiving.
Winter weather alerts remain in effect for portions of Utah and Colorado, including Denver and Colorado Springs, through Wednesday. However, as the storm begins to move out of the area, those alerts will start to expire.