Is it going to snow? Bad weather forecast threatens the journey

Travel can prove challenging, and the best seats for the New York Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2024 may be in your living room as storms threaten to bring chaos to much of the nation over the long holiday weekend.

In the West, chances for heavy rain and snow increase Tuesday as “another atmospheric river event arrives” across parts of central California, the National Weather Service said in a Sunday forecast.

Not all holiday weather news is bad. The Pacific Northwest, which has been host to a series of acid atmospheric rivers and a bomb cyclone in recent days, should finally calm down, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys told USA TODAY on Sunday, as the national holiday picture sharpened.

“It would be a mixed score for the country if I had to give it a score,” Roys said. “There will certainly 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 air and car traffic.

Travel records are also in the forecast

Anything that disrupts flight departures would come at a historically bad time.

Last week, the Transportation Security Administration said it expects to see its busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record, estimating that its agents will screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday through Dec. 2. That would represent a 6% increase from 2023.

Passenger traffic has reached record highs in 2024, with a 17% increase since 2022, the TSA said in a statement. TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the 10 busiest travel days in TSA history all occurred in 2024, adding that “we expect this trend to continue.”

Snow for the Sierra Nevadas, Great Lakes, Northeast

Some areas will see lots of snow. Ahead of the long weekend, 7 to 10 feet of the white stuff could fall in the next few days in parts of the Sierra Nevadas. Travelers may have to wait for the storm to pass, Roys said.

“Any travelers trying to get through Donner Pass on Monday and Tuesday may find it very difficult,” Roys said. “After that, apart from some showers in Los Angeles, there should be some very good travel conditions in the West.”

Parts of the interior Northeast will see snow Thursday, but coastal cities from Boston down to Washington, DC, look set to receive only rain. Black Friday could see lake-effect snow make its way to places like Grand Rapids, Michigan, South Bend, Indiana, Syracuse, New York and Erie, Pennsylvania.

“Early indications are that it could be a significant snowfall,” Roys said. “In some places we can’t rule out at least a foot of snow, although it will be very localized.”

Low gas prices can lead to record trips

That’s troubling news, granted AAA projects DKK 79.9 million people will travel 50 miles or more from their homes for Thanksgiving between Tuesday and Monday, December 2. This corresponds to 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 expect 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 falling below $3.00 for the first time since 2021.

‘Messy Thanksgiving Trip’: Thanksgiving week weather forecast by region

Are you looking for a holiday flight offer? Good luck.

Sorry, there There aren’t many good deals on flights this time of year.

The holiday season is an extremely popular time to fly, and airlines take advantage of it to increase prices and make some money. It’s basically supply and demand.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for winter travel. A little flexibility can help you get, if not great, at least better rates. And at other times there are of course plenty of good flight offers. But it may already be too late to save a deal on flights for Christmas, experts say.

“The reality is that when travelers book holiday fares, they often book quite last minute and book on the most popular departure and return dates,” Hayley Berg, chief economist at online booking platform Hopstold USA TODAY. “What we recommend is to start the holiday planning process early and expect to book both Thanksgiving and Christmas trips in October.” Read more here.

− Zach Wichter

Thanksgiving parades face challenges in the Northeast

The details of the storm are still unclear, but wind gusts in excess of 20 mph are possible from the Tennessee Valley to the Virginia coast and into the Northeast. The wind could bring chaos to the big parades planned for New York City, Philadelphia and elsewhere, AccuWeather warned.

“The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York looks to be pretty wet,” Roys said. “It will be worth watching to see if it’s windy enough that they can’t pop the balloons.”

Thanksgiving by the numbers: See the best and worst travel times in the midst of a record year

The weather for the return journey remains a question mark

The weather pattern through the extended holiday weekend is a crazy shoot.

A fast-tracking system could open the door to drier weather for the post-Thanksgiving weekend — but if the storm crawls, it could linger for several days along the Northeast coast, AccuWeather said. It could snarl air and highway traffic again when vacationers head home.

“We’ll just have to see how the storm develops,” Roys said.

Starring: Alexa Juliana Ard

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thanksgiving Weather Forecast: Travel can prove to be challenging