Thanksgiving getaway traffic jam sees thousands of cars queuing for MILES in LA and hundreds stranded in blizzard

TWO massive winter storms have made a mess out of Thanksgiving travel, stranding millions of Americans across the country.

Traffic was brought to a halt on Interstate 5 on Wednesday as cars were jammed for miles in white-out conditions from California to Oregon, CBS reports.

CBS 2

Thanksgiving holiday travel stranded thousands of drivers along Interstate 5 in Los Angeles[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Californians were trapped in long lines of traffic including here in Caltrans[/caption]

Getty Images - Getty

Snow fell most heavily in Minnesota’s Twin Cities region but other areas including Iowa, above, were hit pretty badly too[/caption]

Drivers were reportedly stuck for 17-plus hours on the freeway, some even sleeping in their cars as parts of the country were paralyzed by blizzard conditions from a “bomb cyclone.”

The National Weather Service for Los Angeles storm warnings were issued for the mountains near the city early Wednesday to Friday morning.

Between six and 12 inches of snow was forecast for most mountains except the San Gabriels, which could see up to two feet.

Walloping winds knocked out power for more than 200,000 customers in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions, poweroutage.us reports.

This includes 18,000 Chicago metro area residents, whose power lines and poles were also toppled by high gusts.

FLIGHT CHAOS

Fliers endured headaches at airport hubs throughout the central and western parts of the US.

Nearly 1,000 flights in Denver were delayed or cancelled, forcing about 1,100 passengers to spend the night at the airport.

High winds and nearly 30 inches of snow forced a temporary shutdown of I-70 in areas of Colorado covering the border into Kansas.

Minnesota was hit the hardest by the same storm, which grounded nearly 50 flights out of Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.

EAST COAST’S NEXT

The storm will move eastward Wednesday across Michigan and into upstate New York before landing in central Maine, which could receive six to 10 inches of snow, the Weather Service says.

In the South, residents in Louisiana and Mississippi were left to clean up debris left in the aftermath of tornadoes that struck overnight, USA Today reports.

The storms couldn’t have come at a worse time, as a near-record 55 million Americans boarded planes, trains, and automobiles will travel at least 50 miles to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families on Thursday.

Avoid traveling between 3pm and 7pm on Thanksgiving Eve and on Thanksgiving Day, as traffic could be up to four times more hectic than usual in most metro areas, AAA advises.

Traffic will begin building up earlier than most cities in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., around 2 to 3pm.

Whether you’re catching a flight or hitting the road, be sure to pack a ton of extra patience.

AP:Associated Press

More than 55 million Americans were due to travel over the Thanksgiving period[/caption]

Getty Images - Getty

In some areas of the US, people reported waiting in traffic for more than 17 hours and some even slept in their cars overnight[/caption]