NY, NJ brace for winter storm as Mother Nature threatens holiday travel with brutal weather

Parts of New York and New Jersey may get walloped by a wintery storm in a few days as brutal weather threatens the country — and millions of Americans’ travel plans — just in time for the start of Thanksgiving week.

Temperatures are expected to drop to the mid-40s as rain and high winds wrack the metro area Wednesday night into Thursday, meteorologists said.

Residents in northern New Jersey and western and upstate New York can expect much more frigid temps and snowfall, according to FOX Weather.

The lingering effect from Mother Nature’s mayhem could wreak havoc on residents’ travel plans at the start of the holiday week, experts said.

“Keep an eye on the low pressure system forming south of New York, as it could bring stronger winds and crumble airports ahead of the holiday,” Cody Braud, meteorologist at FOX Weather, told the Post on Sunday.

Though it’s too far out to know exactly how much rain New Yorkers can expect — or what residents face on Thanksgiving day and the Wednesday before it — forecasters are predicting a “significant” amount of precipitation at least by the end of this week. Wind gusts also could reach 40 mph.

Forecasters are also keeping an eye on a newly forming pressure system south of New York City, which as it develops, could further cause high winds and increased rain.

One bit of bright news from the weather mess is that the incoming rain would help ease the dangerous fire conditions currently across New York and New Jersey, as increased humidity, high rain and no lightning all lower the risk for wildfire conditions, Braud said.

Across the country, the first major winter storm of the season is developing out of the Ohio River Valley early this week.

Parts of Appalachia and the Great Lakes are likely to get temperatures low enough to then see heavy snow from Wednesday into Thursday.

The storm is preceded by a severe weather event in the southern and central plains, which has the potential to bring on tornadoes and flooding early this week.

This storm could also bring on flash foods in the region in the first half of this week.

Though much of the country will not get cold enough for snow, the low-pressure system is likely to bring a massive cool-down across toward the middle and end of the week.

By Thursday, FOX Weather predicts that 138 million Americans will be experiencing below-average temperatures as these pressure systems move east.

Last year, AAA estimated that 55.4 million people traveled 50 miles or more during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, with a vast majority of those people driving as opposed to flying.