Published 16:19 IST, November 28th 2019
Flights cancelled, highways closed ahead of Thanksgiving as storms hit US
Flights canceled, highways closed ahead of thanksgiving as storms hit the US. About 55 million people planning to fly or drive have been stranded in the country
Snowstorms and hurricane-force winds hit the US on November 27 leaving thousands without power. Citizens are stranded as several flights have been cancelled and highways remain closed ahead of Thanksgiving. An estimated 55 million people have been planning to drive or fly, highways in the West and Midwest. Thursday's festivities are likely to be grounded which was to include giant, colourful character balloons floating through Manhattan during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, because of gusting winds in the Big Apple.
The National Weather Service alerted of an extremely active weather pattern in much of the US.
Near white-out blizzard conditions
On Tuesday, another snowstorm caused near white-out blizzard conditions in Colorado dumping a foot of snow before moving eastward towards the Great Lakes region in the central US. For the whole night, ploughs worked at the airport in Minneapolis. About 500 flights were cancelled at Denver airport and another 500 were delayed after it was hit by a foot of snow. As per reports, nearly 1,000 people slept at the airport on Monday night. Another dangerous storm hit southern Oregon and northern California that meteorologists are calling a "bomb cyclone" - a rapidly intensifying winter storm caused by a precipitous drop in atmospheric pressure. The drop typically creates violent weather that arrives like a bomb going off, said a local newspaper. The storm dumped a foot of snow, closed roads and people were warned to stay at home. On Tuesday, another wind gust in Lake Tahoe, Nevada was clocked at 93 miles per hour. Marc Spilde of the National Weather Service quoted that the US Northwest has not been hit by such a powerful storm since 1962. The storm threatens to bring rain and mountain snow to much of California, including places like San Francisco and Sacramento, places that were largely spared by the past week's rain, said Accuweather senior meteorologist Brian Thompson to the media.
Storms to linger till Friday
While the two separate storms are expected to weaken Wednesday and Thursday, holiday travel would be affected through the weekend, said the National Weather Service. There is also the potential of flash floods in southern California through Thanksgiving Day because of heavy rain, it additionally warned. Nearly 3,00,000 people face blackouts across five states, including Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Half of the power has been restored, quoted poweroutage.us. Major travel routes, including Interstate 5, the main thoroughfare from Oregon into California, due to the weather conditions. Several motorists had to sleep in cars on the road overnight. The National Weather Service further said that travel conditions are expected to be difficult to impossible from late afternoon Thursday through Friday morning in Arizona.
Updated 16:50 IST, November 28th 2019