Thanksgiving Disaster: Two Storms Caused Hailstorm, Road Block, Power Outage

The Thanksgiving celebration was welcomed with two strong systems that put a million people in the darkness and shivering.

Strong Downpour on the West

Winter storm warnings have been issued on the west part of the country since Tuesday as a rapidly strengthening storm approached.

The National Weather Service said that this storm is "historic" and "unprecedented" as it provided a never-been-experienced record of low pressure for the month of November on some parts of Oregon and Nothern California. On Tuesday, it sustained winds of 85mph and gusts to 106 mph at Cape Blanco, Oregon.

It has weakened a bit on the following day but the agency said that it still had a great impact to the west of the Rockies for the next several days. Flashflood threats were issued in Southern California. Officials of Santa Barbara County also urged citizens near creeks and streams to evacuate due to possible debris flow. Heavy snowfalls were also reported. In Eastern California for instances, the snow piles are at least a feet deep as of Wednesday. The state of Arizona issued an "impossible travel conditions" for the same reason. The Department of Transportation in Oregon urged drivers to pull over due to blizzards.

Heavy Snow on the Northeast

The city of Minneapolis is currently under snow emergency due to strong blizzards. The weather service reported that the snow is at least seven inches deep.

Both Michigan and Wisconsin are covered by an at least 15-inch snow.

The CNN meteorologist Michael Guy reported that the storm dumped snow and rain over the Plains as it moved over Nebraska to Wisconsin on Wednesday. Then, Great Lakes and the Northeast region should expect snowfall and fierce winds before it exits into the Atlantic.

The Disaster During Thanksgiving

As the two massive systems ravaged at least 32 states all-over the United States, road and air travelling became almost impossible on Thanksgiving Eve.

The high winds with gusts above 35mphs had caused a widespread power outage. Nearly 300,000 homes and businesses all over the country experienced blackouts in Wednesday. According to utility tracking site poweroutage.us, most came from Michigan, Ohio and California.

On Wednesday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio asked the residents to include New York in their prayers so that the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade can go on.

As per New York City's regulation, balloons cannot be flown if the winds exceed 23 mph and gusts exceed 34 mph. The policy was imposed after the 1997 incident dubbed as the "Great Balloon Massacre" which killed a woman and injured four other people.