Brutal cold for half the US and paralyzing lake-effect snow are on tap as Thanksgiving travelers start heading home
CNN
By Holly Yan, Gene Norman and Taylor Ward, CNN
(CNN) — Just as millions of travelers prepare to head home after Thanksgiving, bitter Arctic air will soon blast half the US while parts of the Great Lakes area will be buried under feet of snow.
Temperatures will plummet 15 to 25 degrees across much of the eastern US over the next few days, from Minnesota all the way down to Texas.
“At the peak of the Arctic outbreak, minimum wind chills should fall below zero for much of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest,” the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said.
“Wind chills across much of the Dakotas and Minnesota will be below -15 degrees with some portions of North Dakota as cold as -30 to -40 degrees. This poses an increased risk of hypothermia and frostbite on exposed skin. Have a winter survival kit if you must travel.”
For many, this wintry blast will bring the coldest temperatures since mid-February. About 70% of the country will see temperatures below freezing for the next few days. And temperatures over the Central and Eastern US will be 10 to 25 degrees below normal through the weekend.
Freeze watches are in effect for about 15 million people in states from Texas to South Carolina, with freezing temperatures expected Saturday morning.
Cold winds over the near-record warm Great Lakes also will usher in the first significant lake-effect snow event of the season.
“There will be localized areas that will be paralyzed from the lake snow with some interstates also being greatly impacted,” the Buffalo National Weather Service said.
More than 6 million people are under winter weather alerts and could see 6 to 12 inches of snow by this weekend. The wintry blast could also dump up to 5 feet of snow in places like Buffalo and Watertown, New York.
“A prolonged lake effect snow event will bury some areas east of both Lakes Erie and Ontario with several feet of snow today through early next week,” the National Weather Service’s office in Buffalo said.
“There will be localized areas that will be paralyzed from the lake snow with some interstates also being greatly impacted.”
Travel will be extremely difficult or impossible with immense snow on roads and very poor visibility. The NWS urged those in the hardest-hit areas to delay travel plans, if possible.
“Travel disruptions are likely, especially on I-90 between Cleveland and Buffalo and I-81 north of Syracuse,” the WPC warned.
But for the rest of the country, no major weather-related travel nightmares are expected this weekend.
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