A 45-car pileup in Indiana and a Delta jet's skidding off the runway in Iowa are among the travel disasters stemming from a powerful winter storm taking aim at the heart of the country on one of the biggest travel days of the year.
Around 25 million people were under winter weather alerts Sunday as a Thanksgiving weekend storm brought more than a foot of snow and strong winds to parts of the Midwest, with thunderstorms hitting the South. By 11 a.m., snowfall totals had reached 15 inches in Fort Dodge, Iowa, 13 inches in Lancaster, Wisconsin, and a foot in Pana, Illinois.
The city of Milwaukee declared a snow emergency for Sunday and Monday night because of heavy snow. The city's streets are scheduled to be plowed one to two days after the snow stops.
The National Weather Service had warned that a quick burst of snow would affect the Chicago area Sunday morning, reducing visibility on the roads and making travel dangerous.
The Indiana State Police said no serious injuries were reported following Saturday’s 45-car pileup of commercial and passenger vehicles on Interstate 70. Vigo County, where the crash occurred, was under a winter weather advisory that expired Sunday morning. The crash caused a temporary closure of the interstate, which reopened later Saturday.
Sgt. Matt Ames urged residents to stay home if possible and use caution if they must travel.
“People just need to drive smart when the snow starts falling, reduce your speed, make sure you’re buckled up, and let’s just all be safe out there,” Ames said.
In Iowa, Delta Air Lines Flight 5087 slid off the end of a runway while it was turning onto a taxiway because of icy conditions at Des Moines International Airport on Saturday night, according to the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration. The passengers got off and were taken to a terminal. The FAA is investigating.
Passengers were stuck on the aircraft after it hit ice and slid 2 feet off the runway, one said. Videos on Facebook showed first responders plowing the plane out of the snow so they could get it back on the runway.
“Safety comes before all else and we apologize to our customers for the experience,” Delta said in a statement, adding that no injuries were reported.
The severe weather affected wildlife, too. The Hoyt Lakes Fire and EMS Department shared video showing workers freeing a deer trapped in the frozen Whitewater Lake in Minnesota on Saturday.
A few showers continue Sunday evening across the Great Lakes and the Southeast as a strong storm system finally makes its way offshore. Scattered snow will continue downwind of the Great Lakes overnight, clearing by Monday morning.
Snow showers in the interior Northeast will persist before they gradually fade overnight.
Rain extends from parts of coastal New England through the mid-Atlantic and into the Gulf Coast through the early overnight hours. Rain may be heavy at times, but no severe weather is expected. Numerous cities may have travel impacts, including Cleveland; Buffalo, New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Atlanta. A 54-minute ground delay at Boston Logan International Airport is expected to persist until 9:59 p.m. Sunday, according to the FAA.
While the winter storm for the Midwest will end, another potential storm will follow for New England, the mid-Atlantic and the East Coast, with possible widespread showers and thunderstorms Monday through Tuesday, the National Weather Service said in an advisory Sunday afternoon.
The storms are accompanied by colder-than-normal air, federal forecasters said, with parts of the Midwest and the interior East Coast forecast to see temperatures 12 to 25 degrees below normal as the work week starts.
The fronts are part of the annual winter weather machine that has been cranking out rain and snow even as astronomical winter is still three weeks away. The latest of the west-to-east storms is expected to strike southern New England on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service office in Boston said as much as 6 inches of snow could pile up in the mountainous Berkshires region and in the Worcester Hills.
As of Sunday evening, more than 11,000 flights traveling into, within and from the U.S. had been delayed, while more than 800 had been canceled, according to FlightAware.com. Chicago O’Hare International Airport accounts for a large share of the travel issues, reporting 375 cancellations and 1,700 delays. At John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, 79 flights had been canceled and over 400 had been delayed.
Officials concerned with snow and ice on taxiways at Chicago O'Hare issued a ground stop late Sunday that was canceled less than an hour later, according to Federal Aviation Administration advisories. Travelers there were subjected to delays of more than 90 minutes Sunday night, according to the FAA.
Video from the tarmac shared on social media showed the runways covered in snow Saturday. A record 8.4 inches of snow was reported from the area Saturday, the highest single calendar day snowfall, according to the weather service. The previous record was 8 inches in 1951.
The airport was crowded earlier Sunday as travelers arrived to play catch-up after more than 1,000 cancellations Saturday. The road leading into the airport was jammed with cars, and the TSA PreCheck line stretched through the terminal.
Sisters Rima and Jasmin Eid's flight from Chicago to Miami was delayed three times Saturday. They were trying to surprise their mother with a cruise they booked for her birthday.
“We’re trying to get everything planned out, but unfortunately, we’re very delayed, and they will not help us because we’re basic economy,” Rima said. “They said we will not accommodate any changes.”
The sisters said they were stuck at the airport, hoping their flight will go ahead as planned.
“It’s very frustrating and very upsetting,” Jasmin said.
