Trouble at Thanksgiving: storms disrupt travel plans and threaten to ground Macy’s parade balloons
- Two large storms sweeping US, causing widespread problems with 55 million people expected to take to the roads and air on one of year’s busiest travel days
- More than 100 flights cancelled on Wednesday, and at least one fatal road accident reported amid rains, strong winds and heavy snow
Flooding rains, heavy snows and gusty winds across the US are disrupting travel on one of the busiest days of the year and threatening to keep Thanksgiving Day parade balloons from flying.
Two large storms are sweeping the nation, causing widespread travel problems as close to 55 million people are expected to take to the roads and air, according to AAA. Areas around Denver received 20 to 30cm (8 to 12 inches) of snow, causing treacherous road conditions.
Both coasts, meanwhile, are facing their own weather issues. In New York, winds could reach 40km/h (25mph) on Thursday, threatening to ground the massive balloons at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.
In Oregon and California, a powerful Pacific Ocean storm is threatening to bring snow by the foot across the Sierra Nevadas and torrential rains to southern California that could touch off mudslides, said Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Centre.
“Where it is not snow, it is going to be very windy,” said Dan Pydynowski, a meteorologist at AccuWeather. “In a place like Chicago they are already seeing wind gusts of 50mph (80km/h). Those winds will spread eastward tonight and tomorrow.”
High winds have already knocked out power to more than 204,000 homes and businesses in the Midwest and another 77,000 in Northern California, according to utility websites. Duke Energy’s Indiana utility was among the hardest hit, with more than 15,000 customers down, according to a spokeswoman.
