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Thanksgiving travelers hit by third major winter storm this week

Motorists navigate an ice and snow-covered road on November 27, 2019 in Mason City, Iowa.
Motorists navigate an ice and snow-covered roadin Mason City, Iowa. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Millions of travelers whose Thanksgiving holiday plans were thrown into disarray by two powerful storm systems now have to deal with another coast-to-coast winter storm system on the way home, per the National Weather Service.

The latest: Motorists face heavy snow "from parts of California to the northern Midwest and drenches other areas with rain," AP reports. Over 1,300 flights were delayed and 300 canceled Saturday, according to FlightAware.

  • Winds caused 100 flights to be canceled and 182 others delayed at at Denver International Airport, AP notes.
  • Chicago's O’Hare and Midway International Airports canceled 27 and two flights, respectively, with flight delays of about 15 minutes reported as the storm barrels toward the Midwest "with heavy snow and ice and gusty winds" Saturday, AP notes.

What to watch: The NWS expects heavy snowfall in the California mountains, the upper Midwest and Northeast U.S. through Monday night.

  • The NWS issued blizzard warnings through Sunday morning across the northern High Plains and the western edge of Lake Superior and projects that "travel could be very difficult" on Interstates 90 and 35.
  • United Airlines, Delta and American Airlines issued fee waivers for travelers flying Sunday and Monday to cities in the Northeast and Midwest.

The big picture: A "bomb cyclone" and another powerful storm system impacted millions' of Americans' travel plans at the start of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Washington Post notes.

  • A death related to the storm was reported in South Dakota, per AP. Arizona authorities told reporters the bodies of two children were found after they were in was swept away during a heavy rainstorm.

Go deeper: In photos: Impact of powerful Thanksgiving storms across the U.S.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

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