By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist
November 25,2015; 9:29PM,EST
A major Thanksgiving Day storm threatens to ruin holiday events across the Central states with flooding rain, snow, a glaze of ice and fog.
The storm will continue to push through a large portion of the West through Wednesday night but will cause weather conditions to deteriorate farther to the east through the weekend.
According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Bowers, "People traveling either a short or long distance from the eastern slopes of the Rockies to the Plains, Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes region are likely to encounter delays into Friday."
JUMP TO: Rain to Soak Highways, Raise Flooding Concerns | Snow to Coat Roads, Cause Slippery Travel | Dry, Chilly Air to Grip West
Rain to Soak Highways, Raise Flooding Concerns
The most widespread impact on travel will be associated with drenching rain during Thanksgiving Day into Friday.
The rain will extend from central and coastal Texas to Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin and will slice slowly to the southeast.
Low cloud ceilings, combined with the heavy volume of flights, will contribute to airline delays from Dallas to St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit.
Enough rain can fall in some locations to cause urban and flash flooding. The greatest risk of flooding along small streams and low-lying areas along some of rivers will extend from north-central Texas to southern Missouri.
Before heading out to your favorite retailer this year, take a look at the AccuWeather MinuteCast® for a minute-by-minute forecast of precipitation type and intensity for your exact location.
"Motorists will need to slow down due to patchy fog and blowing spray and to reduce the risk of hydroplaning," Bowers said.Fog can be locally dense in parts of the Midwest, where snow recently fell.
Motorists should anticipate slow travel due to the rain and volume, including along interstates 20, 35, 40, 70, 80 and 90. Motorists are reminded that extra stopping distance between vehicles is needed when roads are wet.
Snow to Coat Roads, Cause Slippery Travel
While the storm will not bring a major snowfall to the Central states, it will produce enough snow in parts of the Plains to cause slippery travel from Wednesday night into Thanksgiving Day.
A coating to a few inches will fall from the central and eastern parts of Colorado and Wyoming to central Nebraska, northwestern Kansas, northwestern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota.
The combination of snow and plunging temperatures will cause roads to transition from wet to slushy to snow-covered quickly along portions of I-25, I-70 and I-80.
Farther north, in parts of the Dakotas to northern Minnesota, relatively little snow will fall. However, there could be some icy spots where roads did not dry off quickly enough before temperatures fell below freezing.
Black Ice to Glaze Roads
This storm will bring the first widespread swath of ice this season.
A combination of freezing rain and sleet are from northeastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas to central Iowa.
Cities that could experience one or more periods of freezing rain and drizzle include Amarillo, Texas; Gage, Oklahoma; Dodge City, Kansas; Lamar, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska; and Des Moines, Iowa.
While freezing rain will not target a large part of the U.S. population, it is possible that enough will fall to bring down trees and power lines and make for dangerous travel in parts of the central and southern Plains.
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The greatest amount ice is likely to be centered on northwestern Texas to south central Kansas. An accumulation of 0.25 to 0.50 of an inch can occur in this area over a two- to three-day stretch into Saturday.
"Motorists should be especially careful on bridges and overpasses, where a quick freezeup is more likely to occur," Bowers said.
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