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Winter weather could hinder post-Thanksgiving plans
01:25 - Source: CNN

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Winter weather could affect travel plans this weekend, National Weather Service says

Freezing rain, snow and flash flooding could happen throughout the United States

CNN  — 

Travelers and Black Friday shoppers, beware – winter weather across the United States could hamper whatever plans you may have after the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the National Weather Service.

The agency has issued a handful of warnings across the United States – one storm system stretches all the way from Texas to Michigan, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said – that could affect ground and air travel.

Right now, the storm is expected to weaken by Sunday, and there are no major delays expected, according to CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen.

Freezing rain, flooding and significant snowfall are all possible.

Here’s what you need to look out for:

• Ice storm warnings have been issued for the Texas Panhandle, parts of Oklahoma and south-central Kansas.
• The ice outlook stretches as far south as Abilene, Texas, to as north as the Kansas City, Missouri, area, where up to an inch of ice could form on the ground, Van Dam says.
• Watch out for flooding – more than 15 million people are under flash flood watches from Texas to Missouri.
• Speaking of Texas, the Lone Star State could be in for a host of problems. There’s a nearly 60-degree temperature difference in the state’s north and south. That’s not out of the ordinary, but it happens during a season change when two weather systems clash, according to CNN meteorologist Michael Guy. Dallas could get inundated. The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has already been hit with more than 5 inches of rain, and the area could see another 5 to 7 inches over the next few days.
• There could be more than 8 inches of rain in the coming days in some areas across the central United States.
• Snow, sleet and freezing rain continue to fall from the Rockies into the southern High Plains.
• Snowboarders and skiers, rejoice! The Rockies could get as much as 2 feet of snow. But that weather could cause delays at airports and in Denver and Salt Lake City.

Rescue operations

Two people went missing during heavy flooding in the Dallas-Fort Worth area Thursday night, including a Tarrant County deputy, authorities say.

The other missing person is a 70-year-old woman, according to CNN affiliate KTVT-TV.

The deputy was found after someone heard her shouting, according to Kyle Clay with the Fort Worth Fire Department.

KTVT reports that the deputy has been identified as Krystal Salazar.

The search for the missing woman has now become a recovery operation. Authorities believe the woman’s car is underwater and that she is still trapped in it, Clay told CNN.

What not to do in a snowstorm

CNN’s Shawn Nottingham and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.