Widespread snow in North America… major disruption to travel

Winter weather is creating challenging travel conditions across large portions of the northern United States as the Thanksgiving weekend continues. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and advisories on Friday stretching from Montana through the Great Lakes and into New York, with snow, rain, and sharp drops in temperature expected to continue into the weekend.

Meteorologists reported that Iowa and Illinois are likely to face the heaviest snowfall. Many parts of west-central Illinois are forecast to receive between 6 inches and a foot of snow from Friday night through Saturday night. While the storm is strong, conditions have not reached blizzard-level criteria such as sustained winds above 35 mph and extremely low visibility.

Snow that blanketed sections of the northern Plains and Great Lakes earlier in the week continued through Friday. Totals of a foot or more are expected especially in areas downwind of Lake Superior in northern Michigan, and near lakes Erie and Ontario in New York. Central New York may also see around a foot of accumulation.

The weather service said more than a foot of snow is also likely across parts of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan on Saturday. Intense snow squalls could bring sudden whiteout conditions in the interior Northeast, making travel dangerous. Eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois were highlighted as high-risk zones for hazardous driving between Friday afternoon and midnight.

In the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains, a mix of rain and snow fell Friday. Snow will begin easing in the Rockies and northern Plains by Saturday, but the Midwest will continue to see wintry weather.

Farther south, heavy rainstorms are expected along the western Gulf Coast with the possibility of flash flooding.

Temperatures remain well below average across the central and eastern United States. Highs on Friday were expected to reach only the 20s and 30s Fahrenheit in the Midwest, the 30s and 40s in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, and the 40s and 50s across the Southeast.

Snowy Thanksgiving conditions also contributed to several vehicle crashes in western Michigan, authorities said.