Thanksgiving Snow: Live Tracker for All US States

Winter weather makes travel difficult ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, and animated weather footage from windy.com shows the impact of bad weather for those who still have travel plans.

Nearly 80 million Americans were expected to travel for Thanksgiving this year, AAA reported. The National Weather Service (NWS) has several weather alerts and advisories in place across the country.

Current rainfall

States with persistent precipitation are mostly in the central/western United States, with winter storm warnings remaining in place across Colorado and eastern Utah through Wednesday evening.

According to the animated graphic from windy.com, some precipitation is also affecting northern Arizona, where it mostly falls as rain, and northern New Mexico. Rain is also falling from Kansas east through Missouri and part of central Illinois.

Rain could change to snow in some areas Wednesday evening, NWS meteorologists warned.

“A mix of rain and snow will move across the region today and tonight,” said a hazardous weather forecast from the NWS office in Lincoln, Illinois. “While most will see little to no snow accumulation, there is the potential for a narrow band of snow to bring at least 1 inch of snow somewhere north of I-70 in east-central Illinois. If this happens, minor travel impacts could result.”

Snow accumulation

Over the next three days, the highest snow accumulation will occur in Colorado, Utah, the Northeast, and the Great Lakes region. The most widespread heavy amounts are likely to hit the Northeast, with several feet of lake-effect snow in New York beginning Friday.

The coming winter weather has NWS meteorologists urging some New Yorkers to delay travel after Thanksgiving until the storm clears.

“Travel will be very difficult and at times almost impossible. The hazardous conditions will certainly affect the Friday evening commute,” the warning said. “During lake effect snow, the weather can vary from bands of locally heavy snow with greatly reduced visibility to dry conditions just a few kilometers away. Be prepared for rapid changes in weather, visibility and road conditions.”

Snowplows may not be able to access roads during periods of heavier snowfall, NWS meteorologist David Thomas said Newsweekpossibly leading to roads becoming impassable.

Radar

Current radar imagery shows rainfall-laden storms moving across the central US and Midwest beginning Wednesday afternoon.

Wind

The strongest winds were felt in central New Mexico Wednesday afternoon. A wind advisory warned that gusts could reach up to 55 mph in parts of the state.

The winds were caused by the remnants of an atmospheric river that hit the Pacific Northwest this week.

“Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles. Use extra caution,” said a wind advisory issued by the Albuquerque office.

Winds will ease over Thanksgiving and return over the weekend, though NWS meteorologist Carter Greulich previously said Newsweek that wind speeds were not expected to be as strong as they were earlier in the week.

Icing severity

An arctic blast will descend on the northern plains this week, with temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero in North Dakota.

As of Wednesday afternoon, one of the busiest pre-Thanksgiving travel days, there was a chance for ice in northern North Dakota and western Minnesota.