Thanksgiving weather: Travel warnings as winter storm hits central plains

WorldTravel
24 Nov 2023 • 1:01 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Thousands of Americans are being urged to travel safely as extreme weather and winter storms continue to impact parts of the US over Thanksgiving holiday.

The National Weather Service said in a post on X on Thursday a significant winter storm will bring heavy snow and hazardous travel to parts of the Northern and Central Rockies as well as into the Central Plains through the holiday weekend.

Snow is forecast to spread over Wyoming on Thursday and travel south through Colorado on Friday, the agency said.

While winter weather may be impacting some states, the East Coast is now enjoying milder weather – and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade has gone ahead as planned in New York City.

This comes after Governor Kathy Hochul of New York warned travelers in the state to be cautious earlier in the week as there was a risk of “extreme winter weather” during peak travel days.

Wednesday had been forecast to be the busiest road travel day for US holiday travelers, with more than 49 million Americans believed to be driving to their destinations during the Thanksgiving stretch that day.

As of Wednesday evening, over 3,000 flights were delayed in the US, while 60 others were cancelled, according to FlightAware. The flight disruptions arrive as the TSA predicted 2.7m passengers planned to fly on Wednesday, and AAA estimated 55.4m Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home between Wednesday and Sunday.

By Thursday however, flights appeared to be back on track.