Winter storm warning: ‘Ferocious blizzard conditions’ and tornado threats bring travel chaos

Thanks to a winter blizzard bringing a “ferocious” storm with whiteouts and high wind gusts, travel in the midwest region of the US will be “extremely dangerous to impossible,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warns.

Meteorologists advised those who must travel to bring a winter survival kit as wind chills are forecasted to bring subzero temperatures. Wind gusts are expected to reach 60-70 miles per hour, according to the NWS.

Travel will also become dangerous in the Gulf Coast region through Wednesday as Storm Finn brings flash flooding and heavy winds.

US airports had no time to recover from this weekend’s travel chaos as storms continued to affect much of the US on Monday and into Tuesday, according to FlightAware.

More than 15,000 flights within, into, or out of the US were delayed over the weekend, with more than 1,300 cancelled.

Monday brought similar conditions, with more than 4,000 delays within, into, or out of the US. Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport was one of the most impacted airports as the region was placed under a tornado watch until Monday evening.

A second devastating winter storm could hit the upper midwest US late this week, meteorologists say.

The storm will travel from Oklahoma City to Detroit on Friday through Saturday. The storm may classify as a “bomb cyclone,” The Washington Post reported, due to extreme low pressure.

The storm is forecasted to bring snow and wind, as well as a surge of warm air and rain along the northern Gulf Coast.

Residents of the Gulf Coast should prepare for tornadoes to sweep through the region tonight, the National Weather Service (NWS) warns.

In the New Orleans, Louisiana region in particular, tornadoes are most likely to strike 7pm through 3am local time, NWS meteorologist Megan Williams told The Independent on Monday afternoon.

Residents should take safety measures to protect themselves, including turning their phone volumes on to ensure they wake up for alerts and seeking sturdy shelter, Ms Williams said.

More than 12 million people in north Florida, southeast Alabama, the Carolina Piedmont and the Carolina Coastal Plain are under enhanced thunderstorm warnings for Tuesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts.

These thunderstorms will also bring a risk for “very strong and damaging wind gusts and a few strong tornadoes,” as Storm Finn continues to wreak havoc into Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the (NWS).

Residents of Houston, Texas are facing a dangerous tornado threat and hail up to two inches in diameter, meteorologist Mike Bettes reports via The Weather Channel.

75-mile-per-hour winds are also blasting through the region. Nearly 60,000 customers are without power in the state, as of late Monday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.

A line of thunderstorms is blowing into the Houston area over the next several hours, the National Weather Service said.

The storms bring a risk of damaging hail and winds, as well as the possibility of isolated tornadoes. The region remains under a tornado watch until 9 pm local time.

As a result of the weather, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport is experiencing hundreds of delays and cancellations.

More than 4,000 flights within, into, or out of the US have been delayed, while more than 500 have been cancelled as of Monday afternoon, according to FlightAware.

The number of cancellations has nearly doubled in four hours today. At noon on the East Coast, approximately 2,000 flights were delayed.

These delays will likely continue as nearly every state is under at least one weather alert, per the National Weather Service.

More than 28,000 people in West Livingston, Texas are under a tornado warning as the National Weather Service reports an observed tornado and the possibility of pea-sized hail.

Nine schools and one hospital are in the impacted area.