A massive winter storm is winding across the central U.S., threatening to disrupt air traffic during the busy holiday season, rake Chicago with a blizzard and send an arctic blast as far south as Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.
Wind chill watches and warnings stretch from Montana to Alabama, and Chicago could get 8 inches of snow driven by 55 mph winds, setting up a blizzard there and across the region, the National Weather Service said. The wild weather in one of the largest US air hubs will almost certainly delay and cancel flights across the country. The cold will then push east, bringing heavy snow to the eastern shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
An estimated 112.7 million people will travel 50 miles or more from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2, up by 3.6 million from last year and getting close to pre-pandemic levels, according to AAA, a provider of travel insurance.
