Heavy snow predicted for Northeast as Midwest still struggles with Thanksgiving weather snarls

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Black ice, snow showers and fog pestered post-holiday travelers in the Midwest on Monday while the Northeast geared up for its first major snowstorm of the season.

More than 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) of snow fell at Chicago O’Hare International Airport this weekend, setting a record for the highest single calendar day snowfall in November at the airport, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was set in 1951.

About 300 flights into and out of O’Hare had been canceled by early Sunday evening, while about 1,600 had been delayed, according to the tracking site FlightAware. Dozens remained canceled or delayed there into Monday, and commuting conditions on roads were expected to remain dangerous in some areas well into Monday night.

In the Northeast, some parts of northern New England were expecting up to 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) of snow. A windy, potentially icy storm was headed to the region, and could soak some parts of the region's six states while piling snow in others, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut and New York.

With plowable snow expected to coat large parts of Pennsylvania, crews began to treat lanes along the 565-mile (909-kilometer) Pennsylvania Turnpike system on Monday, said the agency’s press secretary, Marissa Orbanek. Vehicle restrictions on many interstates in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, including on the turnpike system’s Northeast Extension, from the Lehigh Valley to Clarks Summit, will be imposed at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

More than 600 equipment operators and safety workers are available to help clear the turnpike’s 2,900 miles (4,667 kilometers) of lanes, Orbanek said. The turnpike’s winter staffing schedule began in mid-November, and 23 maintenance sheds are staffed around the clock.

“We really prepare for snow all year long,” Orbanek said.

In Chicago, Don Herrian was among the crowds of travelers at O'Hare on Sunday, hoping to make it back home after Thanksgiving as hundreds of flights were delayed and canceled following a winter storm in the Great Lakes region.

The 76-year-old retiree from Ardmore, Oklahoma, had visited his daughter and her family in Indianapolis. He said his first flight was three hours late, and his connecting flight to Oklahoma City from Chicago was already running another two hours behind.

“It is what it is,” Herrian said. “It’s congested, but that’s expected due to the snow, the delays and the holidays.”

Roads leading to O'Hare were packed Sunday with slow-moving vehicles even after the roads had been cleared of snow. Inside, delayed travelers crowded into gate seating areas, restaurants and sports bars to pass the time. Others grabbed spots on the floors of the terminals, snacking, knitting or scrolling their phones.

Planes were being de-iced at several airports across the country on Sunday, including at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

In Iowa, gusty winds on Sunday were blowing snow back onto roads, extending hazardous travel conditions, the National Weather Service said.

“We did have areas of Iowa and Illinois that saw over one foot of snow,” said meteorologist Andrew Orrison.

Orrison said snow in the Great Lakes region was tapering off, but the new storm was heading to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with up to a foot (30 centimeters) of snow by Tuesday.

“It's going to be the first snowfall of the season for many of these areas, and it's going to be rather significant," Orrison said. “The good news is that it does not look like the major cities at this point are going to be looking at any significant snowfall.”

The National Weather Service issued a warning for coastal Maine from Tuesday morning until Wednesday morning, stating that residents “should delay all travel if possible” due to snow.

In New Hampshire, the Department of Transportation on Sunday invited residents to submit names for its second annual name-a-plow competition.

“Welcome to The Department of the Seven Snowplows, our winter twist on a classic tale. Hawthorne had gables. We have orange snowplows just waiting for the perfect name,” the department said on social media.

Last winner’s top name was Ctrl-Salt-Delete. This season’s winners will be announced in January.

Schreck reported from Chicago. Associated Press reporters Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and photojournalist Nam Y. Huh in Chicago contributed to this report.

A man fills up a vehicle's gas tank at a gas station in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A pedestrian walks on a snow-covered sidewalk in Wheeling, Ill., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Travelers walk though the terminal at O'Hare International Airport, in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Heavy traffic is seen at the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A traveler checks the status of her flight at the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A departure board lists delayed and cancelled flights at O'Hare International Airport, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Adam Schreck)

An American airplane arrives at the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal officials on Thursday gave final approval for the Dakota Access oil pipeline to continue operating its contentious Missouri River crossing, an outcome that comes nearly a decade after boisterous protests against the project on the North Dakota prairie.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant the key easement means the pipeline will keep operating but with added conditions for detecting leaks and monitoring groundwater, among others. The announcement brings an end to a drawn-out legal and regulatory saga stemming from the protests in 2016 and 2017, though further litigation over the pipeline is likely.

The $3.8 billion, multistate pipeline has been transporting oil since June 2017 from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field to a terminal in Illinois. The line carries about 4% of U.S. daily oil production, or roughly 540,000 barrels per day,

The Corps is “decisively putting years of delays to rest and moving out to safely execute this crossing beneath Lake Oahe," Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle said in a statement.

The pipeline crosses the river upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation, which straddles the Dakotas. The tribe has long opposed the pipeline, fearing a spill and contamination of its water supply. In 2016 and 2017, thousands of people camped and protested for months near the river crossing.

The protests resulted in hundreds of arrests and related criminal cases and lawsuits, some of them still ongoing, including litigation that threatens the future of the environmental group Greenpeace.

In December, the Corps released its final environmental impact statement nearly six years after a federal judge ordered a more rigorous review of the pipeline's crossing. In that document, the Corps endorsed the option to grant the easement for the crossing and keep the pipeline operating with modifications.

Those measures include enhanced leak detection and monitoring systems, expanded groundwater and surface water monitoring and third-party expert evaluation of the leak and detection systems, among others, the Corps said. The conditions also include water supply contingency planning and other studies coordinated with affected tribes.

The Corps had weighed several options, including removing or abandoning the pipeline's river crossing or even rerouting it north. The agency said its decision “best balances public safety, protection of environmental resources, and leak detection and response considerations while meeting the project’s purpose and need.”

Pipeline developer Energy Transfer hailed the decision, saying the pipeline has been safely operating for nearly 10 years and is critical to the country’s energy infrastructure.

“We want to thank the Corps for the tremendous amount of time and effort put in by so many to bring this matter to a thoughtful close,” said Vicki Granado, a company spokesperson.

The Associated Press sent text messages and emails to media representatives for the tribe and left a voicemail at the tribe's headquarters. They didn't immediately respond Thursday.

North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Interior Secretary and former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum and U.S. Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer each welcomed the decision to ensure the pipeline continues operating.

The Corps' announcement came as officials and oil industry leaders were gathered for a trade conference in Bismarck.

Energy Transfer and Enbridge are in early stages of a project to move about 250,000 daily barrels of light Canadian crude oil through the Dakota Access Pipeline by using another pipeline and building a 56-mile connecting line, spokespersons for the companies said. Enbridge will decide sometime in mid-2026 whether to move ahead.

FILE - A sign for the Dakota Access Pipeline is seen north of Cannonball, N.D. and the Standing Rock Reservation on May 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)