Winter storm with heavy snow wreaks havoc on Thanksgiving travel

A powerful winter storm packing heavy snow and rain has moved into the Northeast, causing last-minute travel issues as millions of people across the United States gather with family and friends on Thanksgiving to celebrate the holiday.

Impacts from the storm are widespread, extending from New England and the Northeast through the mid-Atlantic and into the Southeast, where there is the potential for severe weather and possible tornadoes during the day on Thanksgiving.

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Heavy snow has broken out across the Inland Northeast and wintry weather is expected to continue to fall and accumulate throughout the day and night into Thursday. This will slow travel on roads and highways to and from Thanksgiving Day gatherings.

The FOX Forecast Center said the highest snowfall totals are expected in the higher ground across interior parts of the Northeast.

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This includes the Catskills, Poconos, Adirondacks, and the Green and White Mountains.

As much as a foot of snow could fall on the highest peaks, while the valley areas will struggle to see snow accumulate more than an inch or two due to the warmer temperatures at the surface.

The snow will have a major impact on holiday travel, with major highways such as Interstate 90, Interstate 87, Interstate 91 and Interstate 93 all experiencing dangerous conditions throughout the day.

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Due to the Thanksgiving winter storm in the Northeast, winter weather advisories have been issued across the region.

Winter storm and winter weather warnings are in effect for parts of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, and a majority of them will remain in effect until at least Black Friday.

South of the heavy snow, rain has broken out over areas of the Northeast and New England closer to the coast, which includes the I-95 corridor in cities such as Boston, New Haven, Connecticut, New York City and into Philadelphia.

The rain has also begun to move further south into the mid-Atlantic in cities such as Baltimore and Washington, and flights are expected to be affected throughout the day at some of the nation’s busiest airports.

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The Southeast and parts of the Mid-Atlantic are also experiencing impacts from the winter storm, but those impacts come in the form of a severe weather threat.

The FOX Forecast Center said a number of thunderstorms associated with the winter storm will develop throughout the day on Thursday, and some of them could become severe.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has highlighted areas from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast into the Southeast where the threat of storms is greatest.

As a result, the SPC placed more than 18 million people at a level 1 out of 5 severe weather risk on its 5-point thunderstorm risk scale.

The biggest threats will be thunderstorms capable of producing damaging wind gusts, but there is also the possibility that a tornado or two could spin up.

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