“It’s Going To Be Bad” – Heavy Snow And Wind Could Affect Millions Of Travelers This Week

A pre-Thanksgiving snowstorm has already traversed the Central Plains toward the upper Midwest. The storm is producing dangerous weather conditions during one of the busiest driving days of the year, reported NBC News.

Winter Storm Dorothy dumped 7 to 12 inches of snow late Monday into Tuesday across Denver.

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories have already been posted for many regions in the Central Plains and upper Midwest on Wednesday.

Heavy snow and winds are expected for parts of the upper Mississippi Valley into the northern Great Lakes Wednesday. Blizzard-like conditions could make driving unsafe ahead of holiday travels.

Here’s a look at where Winter Storm #Dorothy will be tracking today. @FeliciaCombsTWC & I will detail how much snow will add up. Oh and BTW…there’s another storm (#Ezekiel) behind it. We’ve got the forecast…9am-1pm ET on the @weatherchannel. pic.twitter.com/ds1Fxbgvjy

— Alex Wallace (@TWCAlexWallace) November 26, 2019

Dorothy is expected to dump nearly a foot of snow across central Nebraska to western and northern Iowa, southeastern South Dakota, southeast Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by late evening.

“It’s going to be bad,” said Todd Krause, a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist.

“The snow is going to come down hard. It’s going to come down fast,” Krause said. “Visibility is going to be very, very poor during the height of the snowstorm.”

Strong winds from the winter storm could lead to airport delays, damaged infrastructure, power outages, and snowdrifts across the Midwest and Great Lakes.

“Strong winds will contribute to more blowing and drifting snow in these areas, resulting in dangerous travel conditions,” NWS said.

The storm will then move towards the Northeast on Thursday could produce high winds in New York City, possibly grounding the iconic floats seen at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Temperatures will be in the 50s on Thursday, with winds sustained above 20 mph, could gust up to 35-40 mph.

In the West, a “bomb cyclone” has made landfall in the mountain areas of Oregon and Northern California.

“This low pressure system will likely undergo bombogenesis (pressure drop of at least 24mb in 24 hours) by late Tuesday afternoon,” said NWS, “at which point it will likely become a sub-980 mb low with hurricane force winds over the offshore waters!”

Here’s a satellite look at the “bomb cyclone” that will be moving into the area over the next few hours. Hopefully everyone is prepared for strong, significant storm today! #orwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/hJwblDOEgO

— NWS Medford (@NWSMedford) November 26, 2019

Blizzard conditions are expected for elevated regions in southern Oregon and Northern California through Thanksgiving.

Tens of millions of people are expected to travel Wednesday-Thursday for the holiday season. Several parts of the US will experience fierce weather that may make it unsafe to drive.