Illness or inflation don’t stop Americans from hitting the highways or going to airports. But a huge winter storm could disrupt their plans.
Forecasters predict an onslaught of snow, ice, flooding, and even tornadoes Thursday through Saturday across a wide swath of the country, from the Central Plains and Midwest to the Atlantic coast. This will be followed by a cold snap from the Arctic. Christmas weekend may be the coldest in decades.
The freezing swell that hit the northern Pacific coast Tuesday morning will move into the Rockies, then freeze the lowlands and blanket the north central with a deep blanket of snow, meteorologists said. By Friday, the Arctic front should reach as far south as Florida.
Authorities across the country fear the possibility of power outages and are warning people to take precautions to protect the elderly, homeless and livestock, and postpone travel if possible.
For the far north of the United States, freezing winds near 57 below zero Celsius (70 below zero Fahrenheit) are forecast, enough to cause frostbite on exposed skin within minutes. The heaviest snow is expected in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and wind chills will be strongest in the central part of the country, according to the National Weather Service.
Travelers got their first taste of the trouble Tuesday in Seattle, where a winter storm forced at least 192 flight cancellations, according to tracking service FlightAware. The Greyhound bus company has canceled services between Seattle and Spokane.
Airlines have offered travelers the option of switching flights to avoid bad weather. Delta, American, United and Southwest have waived flight change fees at potentially affected airports.
