Winter storms bring snow, flooding, tornado threats to a Christmas Eve ‘travel nightmare’
A nasty winter storm slammed the eastern United States on Christmas Eve, pushing drivers off the roads and threatening to spoil the plans of holiday travelers and last-minute shoppers in a season already dampened by the coronavirus.
The snow and rain extended from Atlanta to Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday. Forecasters issued warnings about an array of possible hazards — heavy snow, flooding, even tornadoes — from Tennessee to Maine.
The storm had already shown its ferocity, blanketing the Midwest on Wednesday and bringing more than 8 inches of snow to Minneapolis. Blizzard conditions delayed hundreds of flights and turned roads into dangerous white sheets.
In Nebraska, the State Police responded to more than 250 crashes or calls for help, including one with tragic results: A couple and a 4-year-old child were killed when the family’s car skidded over a median along Interstate 80 and into an oncoming semitruck.
Other parts of the country were pummeled Thursday by a treacherousmixof rainandsnow. Forecasters said parts of Westvirginia could get more than1inch of rain during the dayandthenupto half a foot of snow in the evening.
“Combine that, and it’s kind of a travel nightmare,” said James Zvolensky, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Charleston, W. V.
In parts of upstate New York and Pennsylvania, fast-melting snowand rain is expectedto overrun rivers Friday, and forecasters issued flood warnings along the Susquehanna River from Binghamton, N. Y., tojust north of Harrisburg, Pa.
During a pandemic holiday season in which health experts have pleaded with the public not to travel, the brutal weather could be one more reason to stay home for Christmas. Even before noon Thursday, scores of flights in the United States had been canceled.
In the South, temperatures droppedunusually lowthursday, and severe thunderstorms led forecasters to issue a tornado warning for parts of central and southeastern North Carolina. Myrtle Beach, S. C.,, was under a tornado watch until 10 p.m.
Tornadoes were also possible in Virginia and Florida, where temperatures were expected to plummet by more than 30 degrees over the course of the day as wind and rain moved into the state.