Thanksgiving storms dump snow on much of the US – and it isn't over yet

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Shoveling snow, what you need to know Snow removal led to 100 deaths and 11,500 injuries that required a trip to the emergency room each year between 1990 and 2006, a study reports.

As a strong winter storm, which dumped a foot of snow around Minneapolis, weakened and moved to the northeast on Thursday, a second storm pounded Northern California, setting up the likelihood of heavy snow spreading across the northern tier of the country as travelers head home at the end of the weekend.

"A major winter storm will continue to produce heavy mountain snow and high winds across much of the Western United States through Thanksgiving Day before tracking over the Rockies on Friday," the National Weather Service said. "This storm will go on to produce significant snow and blizzard conditions across the Northern Plains through Saturday before moving to the Great Lakes and Northeast Sunday and Monday."

Weather Channel forecasters warned of the possibility of end-of-holiday travel delays from wet or snow-covered roads and flight delays because of low pressure moving into the East.

Black Friday forecast: Snow to hit 2,000-mile stretch from Nevada to New England as weekend travelers head home

Holiday travel basics for infrequent flyers: 6 things to know if you haven't flown lately

While the first system, which hit early this week, was still expected to produce mighty gusts across much of the Northeast, it fell short in Manhattan, allowing organizers of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade to permit the iconic balloons to float above the crowds as the floats wound their way through New York City streets.

Under parade rules, the balloons are lowered, or even grounded, when sustained winds exceed 23 mph and gusts exceed 34 mph.

Forecasters said the fading storm was still likely to drop 3 to 6 inches of snow from northern New Hampshire into northern Maine and generate windy conditions in much of the Northeast.

The storm, which began to weaken on Thanksgiving Day, disrupted some holiday travelers with flight cancellations and icy roadways as it spread from the Rockies across the northern tier on Tuesday and Wednesday.

One person was killed near the ski town of Vail, Colorado, when a tractor-trailer jackknifed and was hit by two other trucks on Interstate 70.

Nine inches to a foot of snow around Minneapolis forced the city to declare a snow emergency Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the second, powerful storm in the Northwest, which had been dubbed a "bomb cyclone," forced the shutdown Wednesday of 100 miles of Interstate 5 between Yreka and Redding in Northern California because of cars spinning out, according to CalTrans.

A "bomb cyclone" is a rapidly intensifying winter storm that is triggered by a precipitous drop in atmospheric pressure. This one on Tuesday in Northern California trapped many travelers on the road for hours, and some spent the night in their cars.

Climate change: How a warmer Earth could mean more snow Climate change is making winters colder despite rising temperatures and hotter summers. Here’s why.

Give thanks! How Thanksgiving gratitude may improve your health

Christina Williams of Portland, Oregon, told the Associated Press it took her and her 13-year-son 17 hours to reach Redding, a trip that usually takes seven hours.

Williams said she and other stranded drivers connected on Twitter using weather-related hashtags and began to communicate to find out what conditions were like in other parts of the backup.

“There were spinouts everywhere. There were trucks that were abandoned. And every time we stopped and started moving again, there were people who couldn’t start moving again,” Williams said. “Every time we stopped I was like, ‘Is this it? Are we going to be here overnight?’”

Forecasters said heavy snow is likely through the end of the week from the

Sierra Nevada to the central and northern Rockies, with 1 to 2 feet of snow in many of these areas.

By Friday, as the storm moves eastward, snow is forecast to develop across the northern Plains, where winter storm watches are now in effect.