Severe cold, snow in Midwest threaten post-Thanksgiving travel

Alicia Diaz, Bloomberg News on Nov 30, 2024

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Parts of the Great Lakes region were pummeled with almost 3 feet of snow, threatening what’s expected to be one of the busiest U.S. travel weekends on record as Americans return home from Thanksgiving holiday gatherings.

Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York were hit hard by intense snow and dangerously cold temperatures, with significant travel disruptions expected in parts of the region through Monday, according to the National Weather Service’s prediction center.

An Arctic cold front blasted through the Midwest and northern Great Plains on Friday, hitting some areas with a wind chill that dropped below minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34 degrees Celsius). So-called lake effect snow warnings were in place for the hardest-hit areas on Saturday and a winter storm warning was issued for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The harsh weather is expected to continue through early next week, with heavy snow lingering the longest in northeastern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York, the forecaster said.

Newark Liberty International Airport reported 98 delayed flights as of Saturday afternoon, according to data from FlightAware, while 42 were delayed at Philadelphia International Airport.

A record-setting 80 million people were expected to travel mostly by car and plane between Nov. 26 and Dec. 2, according to AAA, the auto association.

More than 2.7 million people went through airport checkpoints on the eve of Thanksgiving on Wednesday, a 40% increase from the prior year, the Transportation Security Administration reported.