Millions of people are preparing to hit the road and take to the skies for Thanksgiving, but stormy weather is threatening to put a damper on their travel plans.
Meteorologists are predicting a “significant storm” could bring rain, snow, wind and even ice to much of the country ahead of the November holiday. The storm is expected to affect travel in the Midwest on Monday and Tuesday, before moving into the Northeast on Tuesday and Tuesday night.
On Monday, “severe thunderstorms” are possible in parts of the South, according to The Weather Channel, followed by the potential for widespread rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds across the central United States on Monday and Tuesday. The wet weather will then move east, with locally heavy rain possible across parts of the South and Mid-Atlantic on Monday and Tuesday.
This stormy weather is likely to affect the more than 55 million Americans who plan to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest Thanksgiving travel periods in history.
Drivers should expect some roads to become slick, especially over the highest elevations in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, but farther north from northern New York to northern New England, more general wintry driving is likely with accumulating snow.
But millions are also planning to fly in what airlines are calling a record-breaking holiday for them. In fact, the Transportation Security Administration is predicting its busiest holiday season ever and expects to screen a total of 30 million passengers by Tuesday, November 28.
Bad weather always has the potential to cause delays. Travellers planning to fly can check the Federal Aviation Administration’s colour-coded flight delay information to see delays across the country in real time, and to learn about your rights as a passenger (although weather-related delays aren’t usually eligible for compensation).