A powerful winter storm is disrupting Thanksgiving travel plans across the United States, bringing ice, snow and rain to those in its path.
Winter Storm Cara pummeled the Pacific Northwest with more than a foot of snow and knocked out power to thousands of people on Tuesday, and the storm appears to be only getting started.
The National Weather Service has issued numerous weather advisories and warnings across the country, ranging from hard freeze and winter storm warnings in Oregon to winter weather and flood watches in Oklahoma. Parts of Wyoming are under a blizzard warning on Wednesday.
There are more concerns of snow, black ice, fog and flooding as the storm continues to move east, according to forecasts from The Weather Channel and AccuWeather.
Those are expected to cause travel delays at airports and on highways from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes into Friday, meteorologist Dave Bowers told accuweather.com.
The latest Weather Channel forecasts call for Cara to dump a foot and a half of snow in parts of the country through Sunday, though most areas are projected to receive less than five inches.
AccuWeather meteorologists also warn of the potential impact of other forms of precipitation.
While they don’t expect freezing rain will be a major issue for most of the country, there is the chance for enough accumulation to bring down power lines and trees in the Great Plains.
They also noted that some areas could experience flash flooding as rain is expected to fall across the Great Plains on Thursday and Friday. The storm is expected to continue east Saturday.
The Weather Channel also warned of the potential for flooding and flash flooding throughout the weekend, as conditions are ripe for torrential rainfall in the south central United States.
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that parts of Washington had already been without power for nearly a week after a deadly windstorm knocked out the electrical grid in Spokane. Cara’s winds then knocked out power to more than 40,000 Washington residents, KIRO reported.
