Winter Storm: 8 DEAD IN STORM ACROSS WESTERN U.S.; HIT EAST COAST FOR THANKSGIVING

8 DEAD IN ‘NORDIC OUTBREAK’ STORM ACROSS WESTERN U.S.; PREDICTED TO HIT EAST COAST FOR THANKSGIVING

Nov. 23, 2013 6:10pm Dave Urbanski
Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Eight people have died due to a powerful storm system that has caused hundreds of accidents across the Western U.S.
The storm is marching eastward with predictions of widespread snow, freezing temperatures and gusty winds — all which could become a major headache over Thanksgiving along the Atlantic coast.
The fierce weather has caused at least eight deaths and prompted advisories Saturday afternoon in New Mexico and Texas.

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Image source: The Weather Channel

As thick, gray clouds covered the Southwest, forecasters said the storm would sweep across the South and toward the Atlantic coast next week, causing problems for holiday travelers.
Joe Harris, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the “Nordic outbreak” will “produce a mixed bag of wily weather that will end up impacting much of the nation.”
In New Mexico, authorities and residents braced for the second hit of a one-two punch that had already blanketed parts of the state with snow and freezing rain and caused a rollover accident that killed a 4-year-old girl in the eastern part of the state.
Three other storm-related deaths were reported Saturday in a crash in the Texas Panhandle involving nearly a dozen vehicles.
In California, where the storm system hit first, prompting flooding and water rescues in recent days, three deaths have been linked to the storms since Thursday, as authorities found one body near downed power lines, one man crashed his vehicle into a tree and a woman was killed when a tree fell on a parked car.
In Arizona, firefighters recovered the body of a man who was swept away by high waters Friday in the Santa Cruz River in the southern part of the state.
The storm already has affected much of the Western U.S., causing hundreds of rollover accidents and prompting officials to cancel events and close roads.
In Nevada, snow in high elevations in the rural, eastern part of the state stranded dozens of cars. No fatalities were reported and authorities got the road open again by Saturday.
In Arizona, rain came down Saturday as more than 8,000 cyclists competed in the annual El Tour de Tucson. Also, high school football games, soccer tournaments and parades were cancelled across the state.
Forecasters said parts of both California and Arizona could expect severe weather with winter storm warnings through Saturday. Weather officials said the mountains and the Antelope Valley foothills northeast of Los Angeles were under the most risk. However, they said there was only a small chance of rainstorms like those that prompted flooding in California on Thursday.
In New Mexico, it was unclear where the heaviest bands of snow would develop, meteorologist Jennifer Palucki said.
In Texas, freezing rain and cold temperatures have already hampered travel and much of the “heavy stuff” will hit south of I-20, Harris said. Several traffic accidents were reported Saturday, including the fatal crash late Friday that also left several injured hurt in Vega, about 30 miles west Amarillo, and one that injured three members of singer Willie Nelson’s band when their bus struck a pillar near Sulphur Springs, north of Dallas.

Here’s a look at what to expect via the Weather Channel:

Video at the Page Link:

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5 hours ago

Deadly storm system moves east, threatens holiday travel

A winter storm system already has killed eight, while bringing snow to the southwest. Now, the system is making its way to northeast and could impact holiday travel severely. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

By Elisha Fieldstadt, NBC News
Video at the Page Link:

A wintry storm system that has already claimed 13 lives continued to move east on Sunday, making its way through New Mexico and Texas, with the possibility of advancing to the Northeast and hindering holiday travel plans along the way.
There's a chill in the air and snow headed to some parts of the country. What type of weather can you expect this Thanksgiving? Meteorologist Kim Cunningham reports.

The storm, which started in the Southwest on Thursday, could affect a good chunk of the country by the time its westward march comes to an end.
The inconveniently timed storm will especially be a concern for the 43 million people who are expected to travel 50 miles or more for the Thanksgiving holiday, according to AAA. Three million of those are slated to fly to their destinations, AAA predicted.
The "Nordic outbreak" will "produce a mixed bag of wily weather that will end up impacting much of the nation," said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Harris.
More than a foot of snow was reported on Sunday in many mountain regions of Utah and Colorado, but the greatest accumulation reached almost four feet in Abajo Peak in southeast Utah, according to the Weather Channel. Even Flagstaff, Ariz. has seen 6 inches of snow since the storm started Thursday night, according to AZ Central.
On Sunday, most of New Mexico and Texas and parts of Oklahoma were placed under National Weather Service winter storm warnings until Monday.
A powerful storm system already has caused eight deaths and is headed eastward just in time to cause problems for holiday travelers.
In New Mexico, forecasters predicted 5 inches of snow and temperatures as low as 20. The snow that began late Saturday, paired with the freezing temperatures, created dangerous driving conditions, and many roads were closed.
The icy roads there led to a rollover accident that killed a 4-year-old girl, State Police Sergeant Emmanuel Gutierrez said.
New Mexico NBC affiliate KOB reported strong winds and near white-out conditions late Saturday night along a stretch of I-40, about 80 miles west of Albuquerque.
On Saturday, a storm-related crash involving nearly a dozen vehicles left three dead in the Texas Panhandle. In another ice-related car rollover, a fourth man was killed in the northern part of the state, State Trooper Chris Ray told NBC News.
Four storm-related deaths occurred in Oklahoma, Betsy Randolph, Oklahoma Department of Public Safety spokesperson, told NBC News. Each died in separate vehicle crashes attributed to unsafe speeds on wet, icy or gravel roads, she said.
Three members of Willie Nelson’s band were injured when rain and high winds caused their bus to hit a bridge pillar in northeast Texas on Saturday, according to NBC Dallas Fort Worth. Elaine Schock, a spokeswoman for Nelson, told NBC DFW that no one suffered serious injuries, but the band’s remaining four November tour stops have been postponed.
http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/...380;7;70;0.jpgJim Thompson / Albuquerque Journal via AP

Cars slide on Paseo del Norte Sunday, on Nov. 24, in Albuquerque, N.M., after a winter storm hit the region over the weekend. The large storm slogged through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and other parts of the southwest Sunday as it slowly churned east ahead of Thanksgiving.


Over 11,000 people were without power on Sunday in the western part Texas, utility suppliers said.
In all, officials blamed 13 deaths on the storm system, including four in Oklahoma, four in Texas, three in California and one each in Arizona and New Mexico.
Three members of Willie Nelson’s band were injured when rain and high winds caused their bus to hit a bridge pillar in northeast Texas on Saturday, according to NBC Dallas Fort Worth. Elaine Schock, a spokeswoman for Nelson, told NBC DFW that no one suffered serious injuries, but the band’s remaining four November tour stops have been postponed.
Three more were killed due to the storm in California, where the storm first hit. A man was killed when he crashed his car into a tree and a woman was killed when a tree collapsed onto her parked car. A third person in California was found dead near power lines that were down due to heavy winds and flooding.
Additional flooding in Arizona swept a man into the Santa Cruz River. Firefighters recovered his body on Friday.
The wild weather system will spread east to Arkansas and northern Louisiana Sunday night into early Monday, according to the Weather Channel.
From there, it will most likely bring heavy rain to the Southeast through Tuesday, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Dr. Tom Niziol.
Heavy snow and high winds in New Mexico and Arizona, ice in Texas and low temperatures in Philadelphia are all part of a storm system moving across the country. The Weather Channel's Janel Klein and TODAY's Dylan Dreyer reports.

The storm is expected to dump rain on areas from Atlanta to the Carolinas on Monday and Tuesday then turn to snowfall over Tennessee through West Virginia as it continues to progress Northeast on Wednesday, Niziol said.
Conditions in the Northeast were largely dry Sunday, but the region experienced a cold blast that bought temperatures down to 10 degrees overnight — conditions “considered cold by January standards,” according to the National Weather Service.
The region might see the second waves of the winter storm system on Wednesday, as many last minute travelers attempt to fly or drive long distances.
"If the storm hugs the coast and develops to its full potential, it could be a flight nightmare, not only for travelers in the East, but also throughout the nation," AccuWeather.com COO Evan Myers said.
A blast of cold air from the north could merge with the storm system from the south and lead to snow accumulation in western and northern New England, Pennsylvania and New York, according to the Weather Channel.
In a second possibility, the two systems would not meet, but low pressure could produce snow in main northeast coastal cities.
Whether the storm will continue to bring snow and ice or just rain to the Atlantic coast is hard to predict since a slight temperature fluctuation could determine the difference, said National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Bradshaw. Regardless, there is “certainly going to be a travel impact as we see the first few people making their way for Thanksgiving," he said.
Already, more than 300 flights were cancelled on Saturday and Sunday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Whether or not travelers make it to their destinations, the storm will have moved out to sea by Thanksgiving Day, allowing for dry conditions across most of the country, according to the Weather Channel.
Still, the Weather Channel predicts temperatures in the eastern part of the country will be 10 to 20 degrees below average on the holiday.
But lingering Thursday morning wind gusts between 20 and 30 mph in the Northeast could have the potential to damper the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, according to AccuWeather.com.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/...otoblog600.jpgSan Bernardino County Fire Department via AP

This image provided by the San Bernardino County Fire Department shows a traffic accident on Friday in the San Bernardino Mountains in California.

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