A major snowstorm in the Midwest and Great Lakes is bringing winter to some Thanksgiving travelers with forecasters saying the northeast U.S. could get its own early winter storm next week.
Winter storm warnings and advisories extended from Montana to Ohio, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters warned there could be airport delays and slowed traffic as the snow could be falling at more than an inch per hour in some areas.
The storm already dumped more than 8 inches of snow on northern Iowa by Saturday morning and at least that much snow was expected in Chicago as well as other parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan.
Airports in Chicago and St. Louis reported delays of about an hour Saturday morning, according to FlightAware.com, as one of the busiest travel days cranked up after Thanksgiving.
Snow-covered roads and slow travel were reported all across Iowa and northern Illinois and Indiana.
The sheriff of Grant County, about 65 miles northeast of Indianapolis, urged residents to stay off the roads.
“Stay home, have a nice cup of hot chocolate, watch some TV, play some games,” Sheriff Del Garcia said in a video.
Snow was falling in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where No. 1 Ohio State played 15th ranked Michigan in their traditional season-ending rivalry game. Heavy snow was expected at other Big Ten games at Illinois and Michigan State on Saturday night.
So far, forecast conditions do not meet blizzard warning criteria, meteorologists said — winds of at least 35 mph, visibilities of less than a quarter mile and lasting more than three hours.
The same storm and cold front is also expected to bring thunderstorms and a chance of heavy rain Saturday from southern Missouri down to Louisiana and Texas.
Forecasters said another winter storm is becoming more likely Monday and Tuesday with freezing rain and ice in the Appalachians and moderate to heavy snow possible in the interior Northeast.
