More rain, snow and gusty winds to hit during weekend travel rush
(CNN)Millions of holiday travelers will be met with rain, snow or a messy mix of both this weekend as a winter storm moves through the Midwest and into the Northeast.
More than 45 million people from
California to Maine are currently under winter weather alerts Saturday
night, according to CNN meteorologist Rob Shackelford.
The
winter storm, located over the central US at that time, brought heavy
snow to the northern Plains and Midwest, CNN meteorologist Haley Brink
said.
She
added that high wind warnings and wind advisories cover 20 million
people from New Mexico to Nebraska where winds could gust up to 85 mph.
The
storm is expected to shift to the Northeast on Sunday, Brink said,
bringing heavy snow to the interior of New England and a wintry mix and
rain to coastal cities. Some snowfall could linger into early Tuesday,
Shackelford said.
New York City is
forecast to receive up to 4 inches of snow mixed with rain into Monday,
Brink said. Boston could see 6 to 8 inches of snow through Tuesday
morning.
That eastward movement means snow, ice and powerful winds will impact post-Thanksgiving travel on Sunday and Monday, the National Weather Service warned.
As of Saturday afternoon, more than 700 flights had been canceled and more than 10,000 delayed in the US, according to FlightAware.
Ahead
of the anticipated winter weather, airlines like American and Delta
have started issuing waivers for eligible travelers if they need to
change or cancel their travel plans.
Patrick Costanzo brushes snow off a friend's car in St. Paul, Minnesota.
American Airlines issued waivers
for passengers traveling Sunday and Monday on flights to and from New
York's John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports as well as Newark and the
airline's hub in Philadelphia. Other cities in the American Airlines
announcement include Boston, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Toronto, Canada.
Delta Airlines announced weather waivers
for 16 cities in the Upper Midwest on Saturday, and 22 cities in the
Northeast for Sunday and Monday, including airports in Boston and the
New York area.
Travel impacts are likely Sunday afternoon and Monday, the National Weather Service tweeted.
Of
special concern is Sunday, which is expected to be the busiest travel
day ever for the US airline industry, with an anticipated 3.1 million
passengers, according to Airlines for America,
an airline trade organization. A record 31.6 million passengers were
forecast to travel on US airlines during the Thanksgiving holiday
period, up 3.7% from last year.
Another storm that affected the Northeast this week has now pushed into the Atlantic Ocean, Brink said.
West Coast will see impacts, too
This
photo tweeted by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows a Santa
Barbara Fire Department truck along E. Camino Cielo as snow falls at
the 3,500 foot level on the fire footprint in Santa Barbara, California,
on Thursday, November 28, 2019
A
new storm system is expected to come ashore in California later
Saturday, Brink said, bringing feet of snow to the California mountains
and heavy rain to the coasts and valleys.
Widespread
rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches are forecast across the region, she
said, but some localized areas could see more than 5 inches of rain
through the weekend.
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