Travel
Will it snow on Thanksgiving? Winter storms could affect holiday travel this year
Preparing for travel during the holiday season
AccuWeather’s Ali Reid reports from the Philadelphia International Airport the morning of Nov. 19, where the rush for holiday travel is about to begin just over a week away from Thanksgiving.
Winter weather could cause travel delays and disruptions this week as millions of people prepare to hit the roads and airways for the Thanksgiving holiday.
In the West, heavy rain and snow chances increase on Tuesday as “another atmospheric river event arrives” across parts of central California, the National Weather Service said in a Sunday forecast.
The weather service also said Monday a pair of low pressure systems moving through the Upper Midwest will generate “several inches of snow” over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, while show showers are expected across the greater Upper Midwest and Lower Great Lakes.
“Temperatures will remain above average for one last day from the Southern Plains into the Midwest before a strong cold front pushes through on Tuesday,” the NWS said in its Monday morning forecast.
Later in the week, a new storm packing the “potential for accumulating snow” is set to take shape across the eastern portion of the United States on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.
According to AccuWeather, there are two scenarios that could play out:
- The first scenario involves a “slow-moving storm” that could mean longer-lasting impacts from the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys through the Northeast.
- The second scenario sends the same storm farther south and off the Carolina coast through Thanksgiving, which would mean a less intense storm with rounds of rain and even snow from the Tennessee Valley eastward to the East Coast.
Not all the holiday weather news is bad. The Pacific Northwest, which has played host to a series of surly atmospheric rivers and a bomb cyclone in recent days, should finally quiet down, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tyler Roys told USA TODAY on Sunday as that national weather picture for the holiday grew sharper.
“It would be a mixed score for the country if I were to give it a score,” Roys said. “There certainly will be areas of concern.”
Among the most pressing concerns will be Denver International Airport, where snowfall could delay travelers heading in and out on what should be one of the biggest airline travel days of the year. Roys said the current forecast of 1 to 3 inches of snow Wednesday could be enough to cause flight delays.
Roys said Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio and Nashville, Tennessee, could see snow or rain expected to snarl flight and vehicle travel.
Travel records are also in forecast
Anything that jams up flights would be coming at a historically bad time.
Last week, the Transportation Security Administration said it expects to see its busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record, estimating its agents will screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday through Dec. 2. That would represent a 6% increase from 2023.
Passenger volumes have reached record highs in 2024, with an increase of 17% since 2022, the TSA said in a statement. 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.”
Low gas prices could drive record travel
AAA projects 79.9 million people will travel 50 miles or more from their homes for Thanksgiving between Tuesday and Monday, Dec. 2. That represents 1.7 million more travelers than last year and 2 million more than 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,” said Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel.
Low gas prices are expected to fuel record travel, with the national average possibly dropping below $3 for the first time since 2021.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.
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