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Treacherous Christmas blizzard conditions expected in the Plains and Midwest

South Dakota and Nebraska are expected to get major snowfall starting early Monday morning

Senior Food Editor

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(Getty/Spencer Platt)
(Getty/Spencer Platt)

By Sunday night, over 1,000 flights in the U.S. scheduled for Monday were delayed — with about 250 cancellations — in anticipation of Christmas blizzard conditions across huge swaths of the Northern and Central Plains and Upper Midwest regions, according to a new report from NPR

According to the publication, South Dakota and Nebraska are expected to get major snowfall starting early Monday morning. While most areas can anticipate over 4 inches of snow, some parts of south-central and central South Dakota can anticipate at least twelve inches. Farther north, residents can expect sleet. Combined with freezing rain and strong winds, travel conditions are expected to be treacherous. 

The National Weather Service has advised that isolated power outages are possible in the region as 55-mile per hour wind gusts could bring down tree branches and power lines. 

However, for the rest of the country, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said the warm Pacific weather pattern known as El Niño would cause warmer-than-usual temperatures and precipitation over Christmas.

By Ashlie D. Stevens

Ashlie D. Stevens is Salon's senior food editor. She is also an award-winning radio producer, editor and features writer — with a special emphasis on food, culture and subculture.

Her writing has appeared in and on The Atlantic, National Geographic’s “The Plate,” Eater, VICE, Slate, Salon, The Bitter Southerner and Chicago Magazine, while her audio work has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered and Here & Now, as well as APM’s Marketplace. She is based in Chicago.


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