Thanksgiving travelers may face delays due to rain, snow next week
More than 55 million people are expected to travel across the United States ahead of Thanksgiving, and some could face disruptive weather when hitting the road or taking to the sky.
If you’re wondering where the weather could cause problems for Thanksgiving travel in 2023, AccuWeather’s Kristina Shalhoup has you covered.
Thanksgiving is synonymous with turkey dinners, spending time with family and friends, watching football games and the start of the holiday season. However, before the first piece of turkey can be served, millions of Americans head to the airport or hit the roads during what is known as the busiest time of the entire year to travel across the United States.
More than 55 million people are expected to travel for Thanksgiving this year across the United States, according to AAA, up 2.3% since last year and the third-highest since the company began tracking holiday travel in 2000. While AAA expects the vast majority of people to travel on the roads to reach their destinations, air travel leading up to Thanksgiving could reach its highest level since 2005.
A United Airlines jet takes off while a Delta Airlines plane taxis at Logan International Airport, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Whether taking to the sky or hitting the highway, Mother Nature could complicate travel for millions of Americans in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.
Early travelers may benefit from less congestion, better weather
People planning to travel on Saturday and Sunday could avoid the worst of the crowds, and the worst of the weather, leading up to the holiday.
"Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving are the busiest air travel days ahead of the holiday and the most expensive," AAA said.
The upcoming weekend can kick off with some rain and breezy conditions in the Northeast as well as parts of the West. Snow in the West will generally be limited to terrain above the passes, except for around Donner Pass, California, along Interstate 80 Saturday night. Spotty showers are likely to break out over parts of the central and southern Plains. The rest of the country should have weather favorable to early holiday travelers.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said that by Sunday, dry conditions are expected to return to California and the East Coast, with rain-free weather also in the forecast across the Great Lakes, Southeast and most of the Plains.
The only fly in the ointment is across the Northwest, where a quick-moving system could dish out some rain and mountain snow during the second half of the weekend. This could slow travel around Seattle and Portland, as well as motorists who plan on driving through the summits of the mountain passes in the Cascades.
Travel conditions could deteriorate leading up to Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving week gets underway, a large storm could gather over the central and eastern U.S., which may cause a ripple effect of travel disruptions leading up to the holiday.
"A storm will develop along a slow-moving cold front and will produce moderate to heavy rain from the Ohio and Tennessee valleys to the East Coast Tuesday," AccuWeather Long-Range Expert Paul Pastelok said.
The storm will advance eastward into Wednesday, creating an uptick in weather-related delays across more than a dozen states.
Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and Detroit are just a handful of the travel hubs that could face disruptive weather ahead of Thursday. Flight delays and cancellations at these hubs could have a ripple effect across the country, potentially impacting flights to and from cities where there are calmer weather conditions.
Meanwhile, a helping of wintry weather could cause slippery travel on highways in the nation's center.
"The week starts wet in the Plains with a change to snow in the Upper Midwest for early travel concerns. Snow showers will linger in the northern Plains and Midwest through the holiday," Pastelok said.
The chance of rain and snow may also slow travel on the roads and at airports across the northern Rockies and into parts of the Northwest.
However, there is some good news for folks heading home following Thanksgiving Day gatherings. The volatile weather pattern leading up to the holiday will subside, paving the way for more favorable travel conditions on Black Friday and throughout the weekend.
Pastelok said that there could be some rain or snow showers across the Great Lakes and Northeast, as well as across the Northwest and northern Rockies, but most of the U.S. should have drier weather.
AccuWeather’s Bill Wadell reports on the dangers of snow squalls ahead of the busy holiday travel season.
Travelers may also want to double-check AccuWeather's long-range temperature forecast before packing for holiday travel as milder weather in the central and eastern U.S. on the week before Thanksgiving will be replaced by a seasonable chill following the holiday.
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