Winterlike storm to slow Thanksgiving travel across central US with snow, ice and rain

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

November 22,2016; 8:47PM,EST

 

 

Travelers in the central and northwestern United States will face the highest risk of delays leading up to Thanksgiving.
The busiest travel period of year will feature 48.7 million Americans traveling 50 miles or more from home Wednesday, Nov. 23 to Sunday, Nov. 27, according to projections from the American Automobile Association (AAA).
AAA estimates that more than 89 percent of travelers (43.5 million) will drive to their holiday destinations, while a total of 3.69 million are expected to fly.
Storm threatens to cause delays across central US
Overall the upcoming storm in the Central states will bring much smaller amounts of rain, snow and wind compared to the storm this past weekend. However, there can still be enough adverse weather conditions to cause travel slowdowns on highways and at airports through Wednesday.

Enough cold air will be in place for the storm to bring a wintry mix and slippery spots in the Upper Midwest, including around Minneapolis and Detroit.
A few inches of snow are likely to accumulate north of these major cities, leading to portions of interstates 29, 35, 75, 90 and 94 becoming slushy.
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However, another factor with the storm in the Midwest may be an extensive area of fog.
"The combination of fog and low clouds may not only slow travel on the highways, but could cause delays at airports from Minneapolis and Chicago to Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh," according to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams.
Rain and locally heavy thunderstorms stretch from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf Coast states into Wednesday night.

As the storm tracks eastward, sunshine and calmer conditions will return to the High Plains for Wednesday's busy travel day in the wake of areas of rain and snow from Tuesday.
More rain, pass-level snow to target the Northwest

The Northwest will continue to face a parade of storms through the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Rain and mountain snow will spread eastward to Idaho and southward to central California on Wednesday.
Snow levels will fall to pass level, creating slick conditions for a time on I-90's Snoqualmie Pass and I-80's Donner Pass. The worst conditions for the latter will likely be on Wednesday morning.
Unlike the storm at the start of the week, sunshine and calm conditions will dominate areas from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and Phoenix on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Dry weather will also span most of the Southeast states in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, resulting in an extended stretch of favorable traveling conditions.
Northeastern US weather to improve by midweek, but watch for fog at night
Flurries, heavy lake-effect snow, and frigid winds will ease from southwest to northeast across the region into Wednesday.
As the storm delivering the taste of winter gradually departs, conditions will improve for travelers as the busiest travel day arrives.
By Wednesday, the main issue for travelers along the I-95 corridor from Portland, Maine, to Boston to New York City to Washington, D.C., will be sun glare.

However, farther west, light showers from the next storm will reach Pittsburgh and Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday afternoon.
There is the possibility of ice at the onset of the storm across parts of northern Pennsylvania, New York state and New England, which could lead to slippery travel from Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Similar to parts of the Midwest, fog could be a problem for travel in parts of the mid-Atlantic and New England states for a time Wednesday night into Thanksgiving Day morning.