More than 48 millions Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more this Thanksgiving holiday according to AAA. The automotive group says 89 percent of those will be traveling by car, while 3.7 million people will fly to their destination. For those hitting the roads or the skies the day before Thanksgiving, there will be two large storm systems that could cause disruptions, especially in the Great Lakes and Pacific Northwest.
The storm over the Great Lakes will bring widespread rain to most of the region, leading to wet roads and impacting major airports such as Chicago and Detroit. Enough cold air on the northern flank of the storm may allow for a wintry mix across Minnesota (including the Twin Cities), northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. While the storm will be centered over the Great Lakes, the associated cold front will extend all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico, bringing scattered rain to the Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi River Valleys as well as southeast Texas.
Meanwhile, an upper level system will be pushing through the Pacific Northwest Wednesday, bringing morning rain to the I-5 corridor from Seattle to Sacramento, and mountain snow to the northern Sierras, northern Idaho and parts of Washington and Montana. There will likely be a break from the rain at times during the day Wednesday for most of the major cities before a second storm moves in Wednesday night bringing more rain to the Pacific Northwest.
The rest of the country is looking dry, including the critical I-95 corridor in the east, the Great Plains and the Southwest. While that’s good news for travelers, those flying should note that even if the weather is good where they are, impacts from bad weather at other major airports can cause disruptions elsewhere.