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. over the next week.
Those hoping to hit the roads and the skies around Nov. 28 may have to contend with snow in the Midwest, driving rain along the Gulf Coast and a powerful atmospheric river storm slamming the West Coast.
FOX Weather forecasters warned Sunday that major cities in Wisconsin and Minnesota will be on alert for snow showers on Wednesday, and that travel in the Dakotas could be hazardous through the latter part of this week.
The FOX Forecast Center said a low-pressure system is expected to form in the Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes region, drifting into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast by the end of the week. Snow is possible in the Ohio River Valley, the northern mid-Atlantic and the interior Northeast into the weekend but, FOX Weather said, there is still “substantial uncertainty” about the amount of cold air available for snow.
Meanwhile, rain in the Northeast could be heavy, the center added, helping with the ongoing fire weather threatening the tri-state area.
While the Thanksgiving Day forecast remains murky and federal forecasters often avoid predictions beyond a week out, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center’s six-to-10-day outlook shows above-average precipitation in much of the western and northwestern US, and below normal precipitation in the Southwest and eastern U.S.
Temperatures are also likely to be above normal in much of the central and southern U.S.
The final week of November could be “turbulent” across the country, according to media forecasting company AccuWeather.
It said snow and rain will likely sweep across the Great Lakes next week. Rain could also fall from the Ohio Valley into Arkansas and Tennessee before it moves toward the Northeast and cities along the Interstate 95 corridor.
“Stormy weather may continue in some areas of the East through Thanksgiving Day, disrupting annual parades, turkey trots, football games and outdoor gatherings,” AccuWeather said.
The best travel weather is expected across the southern U.S.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac forecasts sunshine on Thanksgiving Day for the Upper Midwest to the East Coast and across the Southwest. In the Pacific Northwest, there could be some rain. Farther north, Alaska is likely to see snow.
Snow will also fall in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, but temperatures in the Central U.S. and the Plains will be warmer than normal, the publication said. The Plains should also be mostly dry but could see a few showers, the almanac noted.
A record 80 million Americans are expected to hit the roads and skies over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, including the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day and the Monday after.
That prediction from AAA, including those two days for the first time, exceeds last year’s projection of nearly 80 million by 1.7 million. It’s 2 million more than in 2019.
The group projects that a record 71.7 million will travel 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.
According to media forecasting company AccuWeather, 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.
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.
