Snow, rain and cold in store for some Thanksgiving travelers

By The Associated Press

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 (2.5 centimeters) per hour in some areas.

The storm already dumped more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) 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.

The airport in St. Louis was reporting delays of about an hour Saturday morning, according to FlightAware.com. No major delays were reported at Chicago’s airports as one of the busiest travel days cranked up after Thanksgiving.

Snow-covered roads and slow travel were reported all across Iowa.

So far, forecast conditions do not meet blizzard warning criteria, meteorologists said — winds of at least 35 mph (56 kph), visibilities of less than a quarter mile (400 meters) 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.