Thanksgiving Travel: Weather, Flying And Driving | Weather.com

T​his Thanksgiving travel season was expected to be the busiest on record in the U.S., both on road and by air.

While there were no major airport delays, snow created hazardous travel across much of the Great Lakes region Saturday into Sunday.

G​et our full Thanksgiving travel forecast here, and scroll down for the latest on what to know if you’re flying or driving for the holiday.

In The Air:

-​The Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, anticipated screening more passengers than any other Thanksgiving travel season on record. The biggest single day was expected to be Sunday, with the potential for more than 3 million people traveling through the nation’s airports. That would break a daily record set in July.

-Wednesday was expected to be the second-busiest day, with about 2.9 million travelers. Numbers posted on the TSA website later showed about 2.7 million passengers screened that day. More than 1.5 million passed through U.S. airports on Thanksgiving day, nearly 2.4 million on Friday and more than 2.8 million on Saturday.

-​In all, the TSA expected to screen more than 18 million people from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2. That’s an increase of 6% over this time last year.

-​The busiest travel day of the year typically happens over Thanksgiving, but this past year saw travel records broken month after month. Passenger volumes in the U.S. are up 17% since 2022.

On The Road:

-AAA predicted nearly 80 million people nationwide would travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. That would be a record number, with a caveat: AAA this year lengthened the number of days it includes in the travel period.

-The busiest times on the road in general were expected to be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

-​The worst congestion in Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and Philadelphia was expected Sunday. Los Angeles was expected to see its worst traffic Wednesday evening.

Weather.com digital meteorologist Caitlin Kaiser adds:

–Lake-effect snow will continue to make travel hazardous across parts of the Great Lakes Sunday. Snowfall rates of 3-4 inches per hour combined with gusty winds will pose visibility concerns in the region.

-Those traveling through parts of the northern Plains and central Appalachians could also see some light to moderate snow as well.

-The rest of the country should stay dry and clear of travel delays, but bundle up because temperatures will remain chilly for most.

M​ORE ON WEATHER.COM

-​What’s Your Snowiest Month?

-​Travel Tips From A Meteorologist’s Perspective

-​America’s Most Weather-Delayed Airports

Weather.com staff writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.