An Arctic blast brought freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall to the northern Plains, Midwest, and Great Lakes region, leading to winter alerts for six million Americans. The National Weather Service warned that the cold temperatures were the coldest since the previous winter, with wind chills expected to drop below zero in the northern Plains and upper Midwest. Parts of North Dakota could experience wind chills as low as minus 30 to 40 degrees.
Areas east of Lake Ontario were expected to receive significant snow accumulations, with some isolated areas seeing up to 60 inches of snow by early next week. New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for several counties, including Erie and Oswego, due to the blinding snowfall rates and thundersnow conditions.
Travel disruptions affected post-Thanksgiving travel plans, with Interstate 90 closed between Cleveland and Buffalo. The “Sunday Night Football” game between the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills could be impacted by heavy snowfall in Orchard Park.
In addition, freeze watches and warnings were in place across the South from Texas to the Carolinas, affecting nine million people. The lake-effect snow event was expected to taper off early next week, but colder air from Canada was still moving southward, bringing the Arctic conditions further south.
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