‘Thanksgiving
under Climate Change’
OVOODOCORVO
Powerful
storm threatens travel for millions heading home after Thanksgiving
At least
one killed as storm moves east from California, stranding drivers as
authorities warn travel could be impossible
Associated
Press
Sat 30 Nov
2019 14.49 GMT
A powerful
storm making its way east across the US from California is causing major
disruptions during the year’s busiest travel weekend, as forecasters warned
that intensifying snow and ice could thwart millions of people across the
country hoping to get home after Thanksgiving.
The storm
caused the death of at least one person in South Dakota and shut down highways
in the western US, stranding drivers in California and prompting authorities in
Arizona to plead with travelers to wait out the weather before attempting to
travel.
The storm
was tracking into the lains on Friday and expected to track east through the
weekend – into the midwest by Saturday and the north-east on Sunday – pummeling
a huge portion of the country with snow, ice or flash flooding.
The
National Weather Service said travel could become impossible in some places.
The weather
could be particularly disruptive on Sunday, when millions of holiday travelers
head home. Airlines for America, the airline industry’s trade group, expects
3.1 million passengers during what could be the busiest day ever recorded for
American air travel.
The weather
service issued storm warnings Friday for a swath of the country stretching from
Montana to Nebraska to Wisconsin, with heavy snow anticipated in parts of Utah,
Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming.
Gusts up to
90 mph were possible in mountains and foothills, and could reach 65 mph in the
Plains, creating poor visibility.
Northern
Michigan University reopened its residence halls two days earlier than normal
for a Thanksgiving weekend, to give students more options as forecasters
predicted a foot or more of snow.
“We want to
make people aware of what they could be driving into,” the campus police chief,
Mike Bath, said.
The airline
industry group estimated a record 31.6 million people will travel over a 12-day
holiday period. Airlines on Friday said they were so far operating as usual as
they monitored the weather.
Delta said
inclement weather could disrupt travel at airports in the upper midwest on
Saturday and the north-east on Sunday and Monday. It offered to let customers
reschedule or cancel flights. American Airlines issued similar waivers for
Rapid City, South Dakota.
Sections of
South Dakota were under a blizzard warning and could see howling winds and as
much as 2ft (0.6 meters) of snow. Authorities reported a fatal crash in the
state after a driver lost control of his pickup on an ice-covered road. A
37-year-old passenger died after the truck slid into a ditch and rolled.
Utah
highway patrol troopers were dealing with a “huge smattering” of wrecks across
the state starting on Friday afternoon, Sgt Brady Zaugg told the Salt Lake
Tribune.
The
National Weather Service announced on Friday evening that three tornados had
hit parts of the Phoenix area early Friday. Bianca Hernandez, a meteorologist,
said tornado warnings are highly unusual for Arizona any time of the year.
Fog forced
delayed flights and cancellations at Denver international airport Friday.
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