Strikes, rain and snow pose challenges during the record Thanksgiving travel week

With storms, snow, delayed flights and fighting, everyone is expected in what could be the busiest holiday travel period everAmericans set out in hope rather than expectation of stress-free travel this week.

Two major storm systems could bring travel chaos to large parts of the country and dump rain and snow across communities and major cities. Already, 17,000 flights have been canceled or delayed due to severe weather across the country since Friday.

Flight tracker FlightAware showed 3,760 delays and 60 cancellations Monday night, with San Francisco the most affected transportation hub. These figures include travel into and out of the United States. Much more disruption is expected throughout the week.

To make matters more difficult for some, service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina walked off the job at 5 Monday morning after voting to strike on Friday. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) said it planned to end poverty wages and demand “respect on the job during the holiday travel season.”

The striking workers are employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services, whose duties include cleaning aircraft and assisting passengers in wheelchairs. There were workers also went on strike in May.

The airport’s online departure board did not immediately show any effect of the strike. Charlotte Douglas is the ninth busiest airport in the United States, serving more than 25 million passengers last year.

Later Monday, a few dozen SEIU workers, some holding signs that said, “Airport workers want to shut it down,” rallied at Los Angeles International Airport for better wages and access to affordable health care, potentially increasing travel delays on the West Coast. The union is asking for the minimum wage to be raised from $25 to $30 an hour.

Millions of travelers are already stressed

It took traveler Marc Supreme 12 hours to get from Peoria, Illinois, to Atlanta on Thursday due to ice and snow, and he says he’s worried the week could have more bad weather in store for the Midwest.

“It does, especially because I didn’t even know there was weather. I should have checked, so I guess it’s one of the things about the holidays, so make sure you check the weather, because I had no idea that I was going to take 12 hours to get to Atlanta,” he said while waiting at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on his way back to Illinois.

University student Emma Welch had flown to Atlanta on Sunday from Chicago, where she is studying law, and said she was a little worried about potential travel chaos with exams coming up.

“A little bit, just because of finals and stuff, but hopefully it’ll all go well,” she said. She said she didn’t know Sunday would be one of the busiest travel days of the year when she booked her return flight. Instead of showing up three hours early to avoid complications, she will instead show up with four hours to spare.

Some 80 million people are set to take to the roads, railways, skies and even cruise ships this week, each making trips of more than 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday.

“This will be the busiest Thanksgiving ever in terms of air travel,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said on X. “Fortunately, our staff is also at the highest level they’ve ever been. We’re ready.”

A later-than-usual Thanksgiving – the last Thursday this year falls on Nov. 28 – could mean more travel pressure next Monday and Tuesday as more people head home rather than extend their visit.

Many are heading south, with both Orlando and Miami’s main airports each expecting 1.9 million travelers to pass through the 12-day travel period.

Weather problems affect festive plans

NBC meteorologist Michelle Grossman said two separate storm systems should bring bad weather to different parts of the country. On Monday and Tuesday, the Rockies and Cascades may face strong winds and snow, making mountain travel difficult. Up to 5 inches of snow could fall on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, with other areas set to get between 1 and 5 inches.

This weather system is then set to move east, causing potential problems on roads with up to an inch of rain from the southeast to the northeast – although the afternoon could be drier. On Wednesday, that storm will strengthen and expand, bringing a wintry mix of rain, snow and strong winds.

Thanksgiving Day will be a wet day for much of the eastern seaboard, from New England down south, while in the northern states it could be bitterly cold, reaching 26 degrees in Minnesota.

The second storm system should have an effect from California to New England, with widespread heavy rain and snow in the mountain ranges. On Monday, the Pacific Northwest could see between 1 and 3 inches of rain, and the highest parts of the southern Sierra Nevada could see 3 to 4 feet of snow.

Best times to travel?

The vast majority of trips this Thanksgiving will be on the road, with 71.7 million car trips, surpassing last year’s figure by 1.3 million — helped in no small part by lower gas prices, which could reach a national average of $3 per gallon. gallon this week.

Data from the transport analysts INRIX shows that Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon will be the busiest times on the roads. But people may not realize that Thanksgiving Day itself is “typically ready.”

“We recommend (on) Tuesday and Wednesday to try to leave early in the morning, the afternoon hours are the worst,” Aixa Diaz, AAA spokeswoman, told NBC News.

“We always say that traveling on the holiday itself is the best day to travel, not only because if you fly it’s cheaper tickets, but also there are just less people on the roads and in the airports,” she said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com