Thanksgiving travel snarled by coast-to-coast storm bringing rain and snow

With Thanksgiving holiday travel well underway, many have reached their destinations — but for everyone else, a storm tracking from the Rockies to the Midwest and Northeast tomorrow will bring rain and snow, likely affecting planes and packed roads.

Just shy of 3 million people are expected to be screened by the TSA today, and a record 71.7 million are expected to travel by car over Thanksgiving — over 1 million more than last year.

The storm, which is already dropping snow over the Rockies Wednesday morning, is expected to track east today into the Midwest and Northeast through Thanksgiving.

It will bring rain that will intensify in the evening from St. Louis to Indianapolis and into Pittsburgh.

Airports in Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis is expected to see impacts from that weather today, NBC News’ Al Roker said on the “TODAY” show Wednesday, with possible slowdowns in Nashville, Dallas, Houston and Austin.

As of Wednesday morning, flights ran relatively smoothly with almost 500 delayed and 20 canceled flights, according to FlightAware.

ONE ground delay at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, due to a lack of air traffic controllers, canceled at 1 Wednesday.

For road travelers, I-80, I-64, I-75 will be affected by rain Wednesday and I-25 and I-70 by snow in the Rockies.

Thanksgiving Day will bring a mess of rain to the I-95 corridor from Florida to Maine and accumulating snow to the interior Northeast and northern New England.

Points north of the Hudson Valley in upstate New York and inland New England can expect 1 to 3 inches of wet snow, with localized totals exceeding 6 inches at the highest mountain peaks.

The iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will go rain or shineas the Big Apple is expected to see light rain with temperatures in the 40s. Winds are expected to be less than 10 mph, which will allow balloons to fly. The parade’s beloved balloons cannot fly if maximum sustained winds hit 23 mph or more, or if gusts exceed 34 mph.

East Coast cities including Baltimore, Washington DC, New York, Hartford and Boston can expect a cold rain with rainfall amounts between 0.50 and 1 inch. Road traffic will be smooth as far south as Virginia and Maryland, including through the I-95 corridor into Maine.

By overnight Friday morning, travel will drop to mostly normal conditions as the system pushes out of the New England area.

However, a lake-effect snow event starts around the Great Lakes and will continue through Sunday.

Airport hubs to watch Thursday include Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington DC, Philadelphia, NYC, Boston, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

On Sunday — typically the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving week, when people return home from vacation trips — the cold will continue across swaths of the country, as well as lake-effect snow around the Great Lakes and Northeast.

A total of 3 million people are expected to pass through the TSA on Sunday, approaching the record of 3.01 million, which was set on the Sunday after the Fourth of July holiday this year.

Chicago and Detroit may see some issues at their airports on Sunday, but the East and West coasts look favorable for road and air travel.

Meanwhile, much of the Northern Plains and upper Midwest will experience bitter cold to close out the week, with temperatures expected to be 10 to 20 degrees below average starting on Thanksgiving Day.

Thursday through Sunday, Chicago will see highs in the 30s and 20s and lows in the teens, New York will see highs in the 40s and lows around 28F, and DC will see highs in the 50s and 40s and lows in the 30s and high 20s. Minneapolis will see lows in the single digits over the weekend.

As travelers take to the skies to join loved ones, authorities are warning people who leave their cars in airport parking lots to exercise caution due to car thefts.

More than 300 cars were stolen from the nation’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, this year — nearly three times as many as last year, Atlanta Police said.

“Suspects can program vehicle key fobs and that’s what got us to where we are now,” May said. Kelley Collier, Atlanta Airport Area Manager. This year, police are adding cameras, motorcycle patrols and new fencing to curb crime across its 30,000 parking spaces.

More than 50 vehicles were also stolen from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport this year, as police said a car theft ring targeting airports across several states was responsible. DFW Airport Police arrested the suspected ringleader last month.

A woman named Katy told NBC News that she and her husband had gone on a business trip and returned to Columbus International Airport to find their car gone.

“In complete disbelief that we had parked attached to an airport and came out and our car was gone. We just assumed it was safer and more secure in that type of environment,” she said. Police later found it abandoned and completely stripped.

“I hope the airports will increase their security so we can travel and come back and have your car there,” she added.