The initial Thanksgiving snow storm of the season brought intense cold to the region, with further precipitation expected to move across the Midwest and Great Lakes on Sunday.
A Thanksgiving snow storm swept through the Central Plains, affecting millions of holiday travelers returning home
Winter weather alerts were issued for over 10 million people spanning from Texas to Michigan. In addition to the Thanksgiving snow storm, a mix of sleet and freezing rain hit the Texas Panhandle, northwestern Oklahoma, and southern Kansas, contributing to challenging travel conditions. Reports of accidents surfaced in Wichita, Kansas, as road conditions worsened on Saturday. Local National Weather Service offices cautioned drivers about hazardous conditions, with some roads completely covered in snow within the Thanksgiving snow storm’s epicenter.
The FOX Forecast Center anticipated a moderate to heavy Thanksgiving snow storm, accompanied by gusty winds, spanning from southwestern Kansas to northwest Missouri, with precipitation totals ranging from 4-8 inches
Despite an expected clearing on Sunday, icy conditions would persist due to temperatures in the teens and 20s. The snowfall was predicted to advance into the Great Lakes, impacting cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee, with an estimated 3 inches of Thanksgiving snow storm.
As the Transportation Security Administration prepared to screen around 2.9 million airport passengers on Sunday, airport hubs, including Minneapolis, Chicago, and Detroit, faced the threat of wintry weather, necessitating deicing procedures. Delays were reported in Denver, averaging nearly an hour, impacting post-Thanksgiving holiday travelers. Unseasonably low temperatures were forecasted across much of the country, particularly in the Central and Southern Plains, with wind chills potentially reaching single digits or below zero.