Click the graphic to be connected to the National Weather Service website (Image: NWS Topeka)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Holiday travelers are watching a band of foul weather across the nation's midsection that threatens to mar the opening weekend of one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Forecasters are predicting a stew of foul weekend weather, from freezing rain and snow in the north to torrential rain in the Ohio Valley and Appalachia and possibly even tornadoes in the South. Parts of Kansas can expect ice, sleet and several inches of snow. The National Weather Service office in Wichita has posted winter storm watches and warnings starting at midnight and continuing through early Sunday morning. AAA is projecting record travel for this holiday period, and spokeswoman Heather Hunter says more than 90 percent of travelers will get there by car. She encourages drivers to check the weather, not only at their destination but at points along the route, before heading out.