35-state storm system creates kaleidoscope of weather, snarling holiday travel

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

A powerful storm system spawned rare December tornadoes in the South, dropped crippling ice and snow in the Midwest and brought unseasonably warm temperatures from the mid-Atlantic to New York City. Meteorologist Mike Seidel reports.

By M. Alex Johnson and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC News

Freezing rain, snow and ice swirling in and around unseasonably warm patches created a bizarre patchwork of weather conditions over dozens of states Sunday, wreaking havoc for millions of holiday travelers.

The massive storm, covering at least 35 states, carried a little bit of everything:

Heavy snow from Oklahoma to Wisconsin — as much as 10 inches predicted through Sunday.Flash flood watches across 11 states from Texas to New York.Ice storm warnings in parts of northern New England. Record highs in other parts of the Northeast.Possible tornadoes, with the highest risk Monday from Texas to Tennessee.

"What really worries me tornado-wise about this situation is one, people don't usually expect tornadoes in December," said Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel. "Two, they are going to be in some cases farther north than people expect."

The Midwest, meanwhile, was digging out from another major snow dump. Parts of Iowa had recorded 6 inches by 5 p.m. ET Sunday, and dangerously cold air was moving in behind it to lock in ice hazards.

With wind chills expected as low as minus-25 in some counties overnight, Alex Mihalakis and his 6 year-old-son, Jace, were out helping clear off sidewalks, cars and driveways in Dubuque for people who weren't able to get out.

"We can't buy anybody anything, so we decided to help them out with this snowfall," Mihalakis told NBC station KWWL of Waterloo.

Jeffrey Phelps / AP

A police officer tags a car that spun out Sunday along Highway 172 in Green Bay, Wis. A winter storm was wreaking havoc across several states over the weekend.

"We've had pretty poor weather conditions two weeks in a row leading up to Christmas," said Christopher Dolce, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel. "There's been a considerable amount of winter storm activity all the way back to the days before Thanksgiving and a lot of travel woes continuing into December."

About 665 flights had been canceled and 5,750 more had been delayed across the country at 9:30 p.m. ET Sunday, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware.com.

Many were in or out of major hubs like Houston's Bush International, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver International and Chicago's O'Hare Airport, where 136 flights had been canceled.

Get the latest weather news and your local forecast

The weather was suspected in at least eight deaths, including that of a driver who was killed Saturday afternoon on an icy road near Kansas City, Mo., police said, and two people in Mississippi who were killed as a result of gusty winds.

Five people also drowned in Kentucky, NBC station WLWT of Cincinnati reported — three in one vehicle in Bardstown, which became submerged in the Rolling Fork River, and another man in Carroll County, whose vehicle tipped over on top of him after getting stuck in a creek. A fifth body was recovered from an abandoned vehicle in a flooded ditch in Ballard County.

The large storm system surged into the Midwest on Friday. On Saturday night, a line of thunderstorms stretched from southern Louisiana to Indiana, and at least two suspected tornadoes hit Arkansas, injuring at least five people.

A man in Rena Lara, Miss., was killed Saturday when wind flipped his mobile home.

And another person died Saturday when the car he was driving struck a fallen tree in the road in Jasper County, Miss. A woman in the car was critically injured and taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, a major ice storm was barreling toward New York State and northern New England, knocking out power to thousands of customers. About 52,000 customers in upstate New York and 315,000 in Michigan were affected, utility officials said.

But balmy, warm weather was also moving ahead of the front, with other parts of the East Coast seeing highs in the 70s along with high humidity. New York City's Central Park hit a record 65 degrees Saturday.

The system created wildly swinging weather patterns almost county to county. In Bennington, Vt., the high reached 63 degrees Sunday, compared to 37 in Albany, N.Y. — only 40 miles west.

John Yang and Erik Ortiz of NBC News contributed to this report.

Related:

This story was originally published on Sun Dec 22, 2013 10:42 PM EST

System neglected and huge storm Snarls holiday travel

A powerful storm system generated rare December tornado outbreak in the South, fallen crushing ice and snow in the Midwest and brought unusually warm temperatures from the Atlantic to the city of New York. Advises the meteorologist Mike Seidel.By M. Alex Johnson and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC NewsIcy rain, snow and ice jostling in and around patches unusually warm created a bizarre mosaic of weather conditions over dozens of States Sunday, wreaking havoc for millions of holiday travelers.The massive storm, covering at least 35 States, took a little bit of everything:Heavy snow from Oklahoma to Wisconsin - both about 10 inches predicted through Sunday.Flash flood watches in 11 States from Texas to New York.Ice warnings of storm in parts of Northern New England. Record in other parts of tornado Northeast.Possible, with the greatest risk on Monday from Texas to Tennessee."What really worries me about this tornado-wise situation is one, people do not usually expect tornadoes in December," said Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel. "Two, going to be in some cases further north that people expect."The Midwest, meanwhile, was out another major snow dump. Parts of Iowa had recorded 6 inches by 5 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, and dangerously cold was moving behind him to block on the dangers of ice.With wind chills as low as minus-25 in some counties of waiting overnight, Alex Mihalakis and its 6 anos-viejo - son, Jace, were helping to clear sidewalks, cars and driveways in Dubuque for people who could not leave."We can buy anyone anything, so we decided to help them with this Nevada," said Mihalakis NBC KWWL of Waterloo Station.Jeffrey Phelps / APA police officer key a car that split on Sunday along the highway 172 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A winter storm was causing havoc through several States during the weekend."We have had very bad conditions weather two weeks before Christmas," said Christopher Dolce, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel. "There has been a considerable amount of winter storms all the way back to the days before Thanksgiving and lots of travel woes continuing in December."About 665 flights had been cancelled and 5,750 more were delayed across the country at 9:30 P.M. on Sunday, according to the aviation FlightAware.com tracking website.Many were inside or outside of major centres and international of Houston Bush International, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver and Chicago or ' Hare Airport, where 136 flights had been cancelled.Get the latest news of the time and your local forecastThe weather was suspected in at least eight dead, among them that of a driver who was killed on Saturday afternoon on an icy Highway near Kansas City, Missouri, police said, and two people in Mississippi who died as a result of hurricane force winds.Five people were also drowned in Kentucky, Cincinnati NBC station WLWT reported - three in a car in Bardstown, which came to be submerged in the Rolling Fork River and another man in Carroll County, whose vehicle overturned on top of him after being trapped in a stream. A fifth body was recovered from a vehicle abandoned in a ditch flooded in Ballard County.The system of large storms arose in the Midwest on Friday. On Saturday night, a line of storms extended from southern Louisiana to Indiana, and at least two suspected tornadoes hit Arkansas, injuring at least five people.A man in Rena Lara, Mississippi, was killed Saturday when wind capsized his mobile home.And another person died on Saturday when it hit a tree fallen on the highway in Jasper County, losing the car driving. A woman in the car was critically wounded and taken to hospital.Meanwhile, a great ice storm was running towards the State of New York and Northern New England, knocking out power to thousands of customers. Some 52,000 customers in New York and 315.000 in Michigan were affected, utility officials said.But the climate is temperate and warm was also to stay ahead of the front, with other parts of the coast this seeing highs in the 70s along with high humidity. New York Central Park hit a record of 65 degrees on Saturday.The system created wildly swings the patterns of the weather almost from County to County. In Bennington, Vermont, the high reached 63 degrees on Sunday, compared with 37 in Albany, New York - only 40 kilometers to the West.John Yang and Erik Ortiz of NBC News contributed to this report.Related:This story was originally posted on Sunday, December 22, 2013 10:42 PM EST

Winter storm system could hamper Thanksgiving travel from Plains to Northeast

aRain, snow and powerful winds are pummeling the West, and that weather system is now heading East just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports. Forecasters are warning Thanksgiving travelers to beware, as a sweeping winter storm system could bring icy roads, flight delays and more headaches to the holiday next week.“We’ve been lucky the last few years, but unfortunately this is a rather poorly timed storm,” said Jonathan Erdman, senior meteorologist at the Weather Channel.Erdman said the Northeast would likely see “massive flight delays” on Wednesday in all major airports, because of rain, snow and low-lying clouds that wreak havoc with flight plans. More than 2.4 million people are expected to have flights scheduled the day before Thanksgiving, according to Airlines for America, an airline industry group. The storm is “about as expansive a winter storm as it get,” according to Erdman, with its effects being felt from California to Maine.The system has already brought freezing rain, sleet and heavy snow in parts of the southern Plains and desert Southwest. One to 2 feet of snow can be expected to blanket the mountains of southwest Colorado, northern New Mexico, parts of northern Arizona, and southern Utah, according to The Weather Channel.  Freezing rain and snow will continue across the Plains States late Saturday and Sunday, possibly persisting into Monday. This NOAA satellite image taken Friday shows a cold front moving through the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, the Lower Mississippi Valley, and the Southern Plains.  Another wave of the storm will push out into New Mexico and possibly the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area on Saturday, creating difficult weekend travel conditions in the area.The storm system then sets itself on track for the Northeast, with some initial rain and low clouds moving up past Washington D.C., by late Tuesday. Erdman said specific details as to how much snow the storm will bring were still unclear, and while it would not be a crippling snowstorm for holiday travel, it would make air and road trips more difficult.The storm will for the most part be gone come Thanksgiving Day in most areas, but an impending cold front should still leave snow on the roads.   “If you’re headed to grandma’s house Thanksgiving morning, it’s still going to a dicey drive in the Northeast in general,” Erdman said. He added that scheduling early travel for this weekend, before the storm hits, would be best for travelers.  “Probably the last chance to avoid any significant travel delays would be Tuesday morning in the Northeast, even Monday and early Tuesday,” he said. “You’ll save a lot of grief.”There's a wintry element to the weather threat that will blanket the East next week, but the forecast will clear on Thanksgiving day. Weather Channel meteorologist Chris Warren reports.