Post-Holiday Travelers May Face Snow, Rain Delays Sunday

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

November 29,2013; 8:58PM,EST

 

 

As the holiday weekend comes to a close, a large portion of the nation will have good weather for the return trip home Sunday, but there will be a few areas dealing with snow, rain and travel delays.
According to AAA, 43.3 million people were estimated to travel from Wednesday to Sunday this year with most of those people traveling by automobile. Sunday is the second biggest travel day during the period and the single busiest day for those flying home over the holiday weekend.
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In the wake of "Gobblegeddon," a large, slow-moving winter storm that caused travel headaches during the days prior to Thanksgiving this year, the weather for the trip home will be favorable weather wise for most people. There will be some exceptions.
The nastiest weather for travel will be over the Northwest Sunday and Sunday night. Some slippery roads are also possible in northern New England Saturday night into Sunday.

Northwest

A storm system will drop southward over the Northwest Sunday into Monday, along with a push of colder air.
Rain will spread from Seattle to Portland, Ore., Sunday and can become locally heavy at times along the I-5 corridor. Rain is forecast over Spokane, Wash.
Flight delays are possible due to rain, low ceilings, poor visibility and windy conditions at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Snow levels will start off above pass level through the Cascades but will begin to lower late Sunday night.
For those heading home Monday, rain will change to snow in the hills around Seattle and over Snoqualmie Pass, Wash., as much colder air settles in.
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Snow will also fall over the mountains of northern and central Idaho and northwestern Montana Sunday into Monday along the I-90 corridor.

Upstate New York, New England

A weak disturbance will spread a swath of light snow and flurries across part of upstate New York and northern New England Sunday.
Enough snow can fall in some areas to cause slippery spots along parts of I-87, I-89, I-91 and the upper reaches of I-95 in Maine and I-81 in New York.

Spotty showers of rain, sleet and wet snow can occur over southern New England to coastal New York and New Jersey. However, not enough shower activity will occur to cause significant travel delays on the roads and at Boston/Logan and New York City area airports. A few roads may be wet.
The storm will greatly strengthen Monday and Tuesday, kicking up winds, but most of the heavy snow and rain will fall east of New England.

Florida

Much of Florida will be free of rain Sunday, but a flow from the Atlantic Ocean can bring spotty showers along the I-95 corridor on the east coast.
Not enough rain is forecast to fall to greatly impact travel on the roads and at Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Fla., airports.

Rest of the Nation

The remainder of the nation should not have travel disruptions due to the weather Sunday.
Spotty rain that affected part of the coast of Southern California, including Los Angeles, will have moved away.
Only very spotty rain showers will affect the interior South, with very spotty flurries over the northern Plains. The weather around Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and Minneapolis should be generally dry Sunday.