Traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday could get a little dicey this year, with winter weather forecast to impact a wide swath of the U.S. during the next few days.
A record 80 million Americans are expected to hit the roads and and another 30 million in the skies over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, between today and and Monday, according to AAA.
They may have to contend with snow in the Midwest, thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast, more precipitation pounding an already-saturated West Coast and the possibility of “messy Thanksgiving travel” in the eastern U.S.
This unsettled weather is forecast before temperatures are projected to plummet during the last week of November and the first days of December.
Here’s a look at the holiday week weather forecast:
Today
While snow is expected to end over the Rockies this morning, the low pressure system responsible for the snowfall will intensify and move through the Midwest and into the Northeast through Thanksgiving.
“One tricky travel area will be in and around the Denver area as snow spreads across the area on Wednesday, where 1-3 inches of snow is expected to fall,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Emma Belscher.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms are also expected across the Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley, and Tennessee Valley through the afternoon. The rain will move east through Thursday, as well.
Temperatures from the Southern Plains into the Gulf Coast will be above average, and the West Coast was forecast to see dry conditions after days of wet weather.
Today will be the last day of above average temperatures throughout the South.
“Elsewhere, snow showers across the Upper Great Lakes may yield anywhere from 4-8 inches over the northern coastline of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well as northern parts of the Lower Peninsula,” the National Weather Service said.
Thursday
The weather will turn on Thursday, bringing some potentially severe thunderstorms across the Southeast and a “significant arctic outbreak” in the northern Plains.
Rain could cause ponding on roadways and lightning delays are possible at airports in cities from Houston to Atlanta, AccuWeather forecasters stated.
“Thunderstorms Wednesday night into Thursday across the South can spell trouble for any last-minute travelers as they can be accompanied by flooding downpours, damaging wind gusts and even isolated tornadoes,” warned Belscher.
To the north, the mid-Atlantic will have rain and snow in some areas. The western Great Lakes will continue to see snow showers, with dangerous wind chill temperatures and heavy lake effect snow likely downwind of the region.
In the eastern U.S., FOX Weather said a Thanksgiving Day storm would cause last-minute travel troubles that “will likely last until Black Friday and the start of the weekend.”
Rain is forecast in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C..
All of this comes as the National Weather Service alerted Americans about a “significant arctic outbreak” that would arrive in the northern Rockies and Plains on Thanksgiving into Friday.
A record number of people will be traveling, AAA predicted. The group projects that a record 71.7 million will head out by car, 5.84 million will fly domestically, and close to 2.3 million are expected to travel by modes of transportation, including buses, cruises and trains.
The most weather-delayed airports during the holidays are San Francisco International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport, according to AccuWeather.
Friday
Travelers should expect significant delays, with major airports likely to see cancellations and delays in the early morning.
Chilly air over the Great Lakes will bring lake-effect snow.
“Post-holiday travelers near the Great Lakes will not be in the clear as lake-effect snow will continue into the weekend,” Belscher said.
“A swath of light to moderate snowfall is likely to develop across portions of the interior Northeast, with the Northern Appalachians forecast to receive 4-8 inches of snow by Friday morning,” the National Weather Service noted.
The arctic outbreak will move south and east through the Plains and Midwest this weekend.
“Dangerous wind chill temperatures are expected with a significant long duration lake effect snow event possible downwind of the Great Lakes,” the National Weather Service said.
The National Retail Foundation also expects a record number of in-store and online shoppers from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. This year should see 183.4 million, up from 182 million last year.
