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Latest Thanksgiving forecast calls for snow, rain and bitter cold as millions travel

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17 hours ago

November 27, 2024

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Latest Thanksgiving forecast calls for snow, rain and bitter cold as millions travel

A cross-country storm, a blast of Arctic air and an outbreak of showers and thunderstorms are threatening to snarl traffic and pile up delays at airports over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, one of the nation’s busiest travel periods.

After blasting California’s Sierra Nevada with snow, the sweeping storm pushed across Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, where it’s forecast to dump several more inches of snow on Wednesday before tracking through the Midwest and into the Northeast through Thanksgiving Day.

Roads across Colorado closed as snow plow crews worked to clear major thoroughfares, according to the state’s Department of Transportation. The Federal Aviation Administration said flights departing from Denver and Salt Lake City International were being “sprayed with deicing fluid to remove snow and ice.”

Showers and thunderstorms are projected to drench much of the I-95 corridor late Wednesday and on turkey day, impacting cities including Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York and Boston, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. Rain is also expected in the Southeast, including northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Communities throughout the Great Lakes region could see the worst of the incoming holiday weather, with multiple feet of snow and whiteout conditions in the forecast. Parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio and western New York state could see snowfall rates as high as 2 to 3 inches per hour, The heaviest bands may drop visibility near zero, creating a hazard and prompting warnings from weather officials and local authorities.

Developments:

∎ As the storm moved east Wednesday, flight delays diminished at Denver International Airport but picked up at Newark Liberty about 10 miles west of New York City. The airport, which is grappling with a shortage of air traffic controllers, had 71 delayed flights as of 7 p.m. ET, FlightAware reported. Denver was second nationwide with 48.

∎ AccuWeather said the lake-effect snow along the Great Lakes this weekend would be measured in feet instead of inches, with the blast starting Friday night.

Cold rain in store for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

After two years of dry, warm weather, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is expected to be bogged down by cold rain as showers break out across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.

“A steady, soaking rain is expected throughout the parade, and it will be a chilly rain with temperatures in the 40s,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Thompson said in an online forecast. “Wind should not be too much of an issue for the balloons, as the wind will be mainly under 20 mph. That’s below the threshold of 34 mph wind gusts, which can ground the balloons.”

The event, which started in 1924, is known for its towering balloons, parade floats and star-studded performances. Over 2 million people view the festivities in-person in Manhattan, and more than 50 million people tune into the parade from home.

Crews working to plow snow-covered roads in Colorado

Several roads across Colorado, including in the Denver and Boulder metro areas, were closed Wednesday morning as snow continued to fall and disrupt Thanksgiving travel.

Among the dozens of impacted roads was a section of U.S. Route 50 shut down for “snow removal operations,” according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Route 50, a major highway crossing in Colorado, runs across the country from West Sacramento, California, to Ocean City, Maryland.

The transportation department said Tuesday it suspended until spring a resurfacing project on U.S. Route 34 and U.S. Route 36, which involved improvements to the sidewalks and retaining wall along both major roadways.

“This pause is essential to ensure the safety of both the traveling public and work crews during winter weather,” the state agency said in a statement. “Work is set to resume in the spring until late May 2025.”

Winter storm watches for Northeast warn of icy roads, low visibility

Across parts of the Midwest and Northeast, winter storm watches warned of heavy lake-effect snow and treacherous driving conditions over the holiday weekend.

In Cleveland and Maine, weather officials said they expect more than 7 inches of snow to fall by Tuesday. The National Weather Service office in Buffalo, New York, warned of more than a foot of heavy lake-effect snow, with wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

“There is uncertainty in exact band placement and amounts, but multiple periods of heavy snow are possible. Travel could be very difficult to impossible with very poor visibility and deep snow cover on roads,” the office said in a weather alert. “Some major roadways could temporarily close. The hazardous conditions could impact the post-Thanksgiving travel period, especially along Interstate 81.”

Arctic blast to bring bitter cold to central, eastern US

An Arctic blast is dropping temperatures across the northern Plains, Midwest and eastern U.S. to lows not experienced since last winter.

As the first sub-zero temperatures set in across the Dakotas and Minnesota ahead of Thanksgiving, temperatures in and around Dallas and Atlanta could dip near freezing for the first time this season. On Friday morning, Chicago could see single-digit temperatures.

“The cold blast will feel like January and will deliver a significant shock to hundreds of millions of people who may have gotten used to warm conditions during much of the autumn,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok.

Meteorologists say the cool air will come in waves this December, which is on pace to be much colder than last year for the Midwest and Northeast. “This December, we believe temperatures will be perhaps a few degrees below the historical average with an approximate difference of 15 degrees for the month as a whole,” Pastelok said.

A record number of people are traveling for Thanksgiving

Some 79.9 million people will travel 50 miles or more from their homes for Thanksgiving from Tuesday to Monday, according to the American Automobile Association. That represents an increase of 1.7 million over last year and 2 million more than in 2019.

Stacey Barber, vice President of AAA Travel, said she is expecting to see “new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising.”

The Transportation Security Administration also said it expects the busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record, estimating its agents will screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday through Dec. 2. TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the 10 busiest travel days in the TSA’s history have all occurred in 2024, adding that “we anticipate that trend to continue.”

Contributing: John Bacon, Doyle Rice and Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY