Snow, Freezing Rain Hamper Holiday Travelers

Heavy snow Wednesday brought a white Thanksgiving to Washington state, closing roads and schools with up to 20 inches of snow while freezing rain across southern New England and the Midwest made roads treacherous for holiday travelers.

Arctic cold froze the Northwest and northern Plains for the 10th straight day, shattering records in at least 14 cities. Heavy rain in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Arkansas sent streams over their banks, causing some flooding.

Snow fell from Washington state to western Montana, with the highest amount, 20 inches, recorded on Whidbey Island, 25 miles northwest of Seattle. A thick quilt of drifting snow allowed many public school students to begin the Thanksgiving holiday a day early.

On the east side of the Cascade Mountains, blowing snow caused the partial closure of the state’s two major east-west highways.

Zero Visibility

“The weather in central Washington, in terms of traffic conditions, is the worst it has been for several years,” state Department of Transportation spokesman Jack Fischer said. “Visibility is virtually zero.”

Cars plowed through eight inches of snow on Seattle streets. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has measured 17.4 inches of snow this month, a record for November snowfall. Spokane had 14 inches.

Bellingham, Wash., buried under a foot of new snow, shivered in gusty winds that dropped the wind chill factor to 45 degrees below zero.

Freezing rain and sleet glazed roads across southern New England and in Kansas, Oklahoma and most of Missouri, making holiday travel hazardous and prompting travelers’ advisories. Freezing rain was expected overnight across lower Michigan.

“We, as meteorologists, are really not qualified to say how much more carefully somebody should drive in conditions like this,” said Pete Reynolds of the National Weather Service. “But I think you could say caution is definitely in order.”

Record Cold Reported

Frigid arctic air hovered over the Northwest and northern Plains. The mercury dropped to 23 below at International Falls, Minn., one degree below the 1958 record. It was 17 below in Billings, Mont., breaking a record for the sixth straight day.

Valentine, Neb., had a record 18 below, the seventh consecutive night of subzero lows.

In West Virginia’s northern panhandle, which got more than three inches of rain in 18 hours ending early Wednesday, about 700 people were forced from their homes as Wheeling Creek rose to more than six feet above flood stage.

More than 200 people were forced from their homes in Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania overnight by flooding. Faulkner County, Ark., received two to four inches of rain.