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As holiday travelers prepare to hit the road, severe weather conditions are expected to cause significant disruptions across parts of the United States. The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned of dangerous wind gusts and heavy snow from the Northwest to the North-Central regions, posing hazardous travel conditions and potential infrastructure impacts.
On Wednesday (December 17), eight million people in the northwestern U.S. remain under flood watches, while 31 million people across more than half the country are under strong wind alerts. The NWS stated, "Powerful winds combined with periods of snow across the Northern Plains are likely to produce whiteout conditions tonight into Thursday." Snow squalls in the Northern High Plains could lead to rapid visibility reductions, creating extremely hazardous travel conditions.
Heavy snow is also forecasted for the higher terrains of the Cascades and Northern Rockies. The NWS warned of additional power outages and tree damage due to heavy, wet snow straining trees and power lines.
Wind alerts stretch from the Pacific Northwest, across the Rockies, into the Plains, and parts of the Midwest, with widespread damaging winds potentially causing numerous power outages. In Colorado, strong winds and low humidity increase fire danger, particularly along the I-25 corridor. Boulder, Colorado, may experience peak wind gusts of 80 mph, while Denver could see gusts up to 48 mph. Bismarck, North Dakota, and Spokane, Washington, are forecasted to have peak winds of 61 mph and 50 mph, respectively.
Flood watches are in effect for western Washington, Oregon, and northern Idaho and Montana, with rain expected to intensify, exacerbating river, creek, and stream flooding through Friday. Western Washington has already experienced historic flooding, prompting evacuations and causing widespread damage. Another storm is set to bring heavy rain to Northern California from Thursday morning through Friday, with 2-8 inches of rainfall expected, increasing the risk of levee breaches.
Winter storms could also impact travel across the Northeast and along I-95 corridor. Winter storms are expected to bring rain, snow, and damaging winds with gusts up to 60 mph in some areas.
