Thanksgiving Weather Update Raises Travel Concerns
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If you plan to travel for Thanksgiving 2024, bad weather across the United States could make your plans very difficult. Concerns for people who intend to travel are raised by the National Weather Service’s forecasts of storms predicted to impact most of the nation throughout the holiday weekend.
An atmospheric river event is expected to bring significant rain and snow beginning Tuesday across the western United States, especially central California. This evolution probably will have a major effect on the travel conditions in the area. Not all Christmas weather alerts, meanwhile, are depressing. Expected to find some relief is the Pacific Northwest, which lately saw strong weather events including a bomb cyclone and atmospheric rivers. Tyler Roys, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said that as the holiday draws near the weather in this area is probably going to settle.
Roys said, “If I were to score the nation, it would be a mixed bag. Certainly, there will be areas of worry. Of these issues, Denver International Airport stands out since snowfall there is predicted to cause delays. Wednesday’s prediction is for one to three inches of snow, which might interfere with travel plans on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Ohio, and Nashville, Tennessee are other places probably prone to weather-related interruptions. These regions may have a mix of snow and rain, therefore influencing road traffic and flight plans.
There is no worse timing for this bad weather. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), travel volumes for Thanksgiving will be the highest ever recorded. With a 6% increase from last year, the TSA plans to screen 18.3 million travelers Tuesday through December 2. With a 17% rise from 2022, passenger counts in 2024 have exploded. TSA Administrator David Pekoske pointed out that although this trend is projected to last the Christmas season, the 10 busiest travel days in TSA history have all happened in 2024.
With forecasts of up to 7 to 10 feet of snow over the next few days, the Sierra Nevada area is likely to be very heavily snowfall-wise. Travel across places like Donner Pass on Monday and Tuesday could be seriously disrupted by this. Travelers in the Sierra Nevada region should exercise caution even if the weather is likely to improve in the West following these initial storms; just light showers are predicted for Los Angeles.
While coastal cities from Boston to Washington, D.C., are probably going to get rain in the Northeast, portions of the interior are projected to get snow on Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday could bring major lake-effect snow to places including Grand Rapids, Michigan; South Bend, Indiana; Syracuse, New York; and Erie, Pennsylvania. Roys said, ” Early signs point to a likely major snowfall. Though it will be highly localized, in some areas we cannot rule out at least a foot of snow.
Given the expected record of travel, the weather forecast worries me. Between Tuesday and December 2, AAA projects 79.9 million individuals will travel 50 miles or more from their homes for Thanksgiving. Two million more than in 2019 and 1.7 million more than last year make up this total of travelers. “Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, and this year we’re expected to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising,” said Vice President of AAA Travel Stacey Barber.
Low gas prices probably will fuel record travel numbers even if severe weather is possible. Encouragement of more people to travel by automobile comes from the national average for petrol prices predicted to be lowest for the first time since 2021 below $3.00 per gallon.
The situation is not bright for individuals wishing to schedule flights during the holidays. High demand drives airlines to raise fares during this time. “The reality is that when travelers are booking holiday fares, they’re often booking pretty last minute and booking for the most popular departure and return dates,” lead economist Hayley Berg of the online booking platform Hopper advised travelers to plan and book early to secure better prices.
Additionally impacting Thanksgiving parades in the Northeast could be the expected storm. From the Tennessee Valley to the Virginia coast and into the Northeast, wind gusts of 20 mph are predicted, perhaps upsetting important parades in cities including New York and Philadelphia. Roys pointed out that the weather might present major difficulties for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, saying, “It will be worth watching to see if it gets so windy they can’t put the balloons out.”
Regarding the return travel following Thanksgiving, the conditions remain unknown. By the weekend, a fast-moving weather system might bring drier conditions; but, should the storm remain, more disturbances around the Northeast coast could result. This unpredictable nature could hamper travel plans as people return home following the holiday celebrations.
Finally, visitors are recommended to keep informed of the most recent weather forecasts and make appropriate plans to negotiate the possible difficulties presented by the Thanksgiving conditions.
This content was adapted from an article in the USA Today
