The Thanksgiving holiday is around the corner, and many Americans will likely be traveling. According to a November 18 report from AAA, an impressive 79.9 million Americans are expected to head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, which includes the Tuesday before Thanksgiving Day to the Monday after Thanksgiving Day.
If you’re planning to travel, make note that weather could be dicey.
Weather Forecast Leading Up to Thanksgiving
According to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, one weather system is expected to bring thunderstorms and possible tornadoes to the central and southern Plains on Monday, November 18, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. It could collide with arctic air as it moves north, causing major snow to develop across the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin this week. On top of that, an upper-level low pressure system is expected to hit the Great Lakes later this week, bringing much cooler temperatures to the aera.
Looking ahead to Thanksgiving week, more wild weather could persist.
“Multiple weather fronts will push rain and snow into the Midwest, the Southeast, the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast ahead of Thanksgiving week and some of the year’s busiest travel days,” notes NBC News.
“Rain and gusty thunderstorms were forecast for parts of the central and southern Plains on Monday, and flood watches covered 4 million people from northwest Texas through central Oklahoma,” according to federal and NBC News forecasters.
The experts at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center expect precipitation bringing a chance of significant snow to parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, following an early bout of precipitation in the Pacific Northwest.
Even if you don’t get snow, you could get cold weather. “An upper-level low pressure system was forecast to develop above the Great Lakes and the Northeast in the latter half of this week,” the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center told NBC News. “The system would draw down temperatures and block any prospective warm fronts.”
“This will result in cooler temperatures, a cold rain from the Ohio Valley to the East Coast, and early season accumulating snow for the central Appalachians and the higher terrain of the interior Northeast,” the center added.
Also expect rain and some accumulating snow in the Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley and the Northeast.
Lots of Travel Over Thanksgiving
“This year’s projection of nearly 80 million travelers is an increase of 1.7 million people compared to last year and 2 million more than in 2019,” AAA said. “AAA projects a record 71.7 million people will travel by car over Thanksgiving – that’s an additional 1.3 million travelers on the road compared to last year. This year’s number also surpasses pre-pandemic numbers when 70.6 million people drove to their Thanksgiving destinations in 2019.”
“Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, and this year we’re expecting to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising,” Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel, said in a statement. “Americans reconnect with family and friends over Thanksgiving, and travel is a big part of that. AAA continues to see travel demand soar post-pandemic with our members looking for new adventures and memorable vacations.”