Carolinas travelers face 2 major storm systems as they’re headed west on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving travelers in the Carolinas are facing two ominous storm systems if they’re flying or driving to the Midwest or West Coast, the National Weather Service is warning.

Flights to those regions could face delays and cancellations as conditions worsen, and roads could be blocked by feet of snow, NWS officials say.

Weather in the Carolinas will be mild by comparison, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s through the week.

“A Central U.S. storm will bring heavy snow from the Rockies to the Upper Midwest Tuesday and Wednesday,” said a Tuesday morning NWS update.

“Strong to potentially damaging winds are forecast south of the storm track from Texas into the Great Lakes. The second storm arrives Tuesday into the West Coast with strong winds, dangerous seas and heavy mountain snow.”

The Tuesday alert was issued due to growing concern that conditions in the region are increasingly favorable for the storms to intensify, NWS officials said.

High winds and snow are the chief concerns, according to the latest forecast.

“Very windy conditions are likely across much of the Plains and high wind warnings are in effect from eastern New Mexico to southern Kansas, where winds could gust in excess of 55 mph at times,” NWS officials said Tuesday.

“An even stronger storm is expected to develop over the eastern Pacific and reach the West Coast by Tuesday night. This low pressure system will likely undergo bombogenesis (a dramatic drop in air pressure) by late Tuesday afternoon ... with hurricane force winds over the offshore waters!”

Snowfall accumulations of 1 to 3 feet are likely for California mountain ranges “and winter storm watches are in effect farther to the east to include northern Arizona,” NWS officials said.

“Thanksgiving travel in these regions could be severely affected,” officials said. “In contrast, the weather should remain relatively uneventful along most of the East Coast through midweek.”

This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 7:51 AM.