Powerful Storm Interrupts Nation's Busiest Travel Weekend

A powerful storm making its way east from California is causing major disruptions during the year's busiest travel weekend, as forecasters warned that intensifying snow and ice could thwart millions of people across the country hoping to get home after Thanksgiving.

The storm caused the death of at least one person in South Dakota and shut down highways in the western U.S., stranding drivers in California and prompting authorities in Arizona to plead with travelers to wait out the weather before attempting to travel.

The storm was tracking into the Plains Friday and expected to track east through the weekend - into the Midwest by Saturday and the Northeast on Sunday - pummeling a huge portion of the country with snow, ice or flash flooding.

The National Weather Service said travel could become impossible in some places.

Airlines for America, the airline industry's trade group, expects 3.1 million passengers during what could be the busiest day ever recorded for American air travel.

The weather service issued storm warnings Friday for a swath of the country stretching from Montana to Nebraska to Wisconsin, with heavy snow anticipated in parts of Utah, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming.

One hopeful traveler asked the weather service Friday on Twitter whether it would be advisable to drive to Duluth, Minnesota, over the weekend.

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