The busy Thanksgiving travel week is upon us as folks get ready to start the holiday season. AAA is projecting that around 48.7 million of us will be hitting the roads and airways this week. This would be an extra one million travelers compared to last Thanksgiving. The most popular mode of transportation will be by car. AAA projects that nearly ninety percent of travelers will be hitting the road to get to their holiday destination. This year's most popular destination is expected to be Las Vegas, Nevada. Other popular destinations this year are San Francisco, San Diego, Orlando, and New York. Whether your Thanksgiving travel plans take you out west or to the eastern seaboard, taking a close look at the weather forecast will be an important part of your preparation before you head out the door.
Western U.S. and Pacific Northwest
November has been a particularly active month for the Pacific Northwest. An active onshore flow pattern has continued to pummel the area this fall. October brought record rainfall to the region, and so far November has continued the abnormally wet pattern. Leading up to Thanksgiving, strong onshore flow brought on by a strong low off the coast of British Columbia will bring more heavy rains along with higher elevation snows on Wednesday and Thursday. This will be accompanied by very gusty winds, especially for coastal areas. The impacts of this system will reach southward into northern California with valley rains. Some of the higher elevations of the Cascades will also see the potential for significant snow on Wednesday through Friday. Travel home will not see any major shift in the pattern as periods of rain and snow will continue through the weekend and even into early next week.
Total amount of liquid precipitation in inches that is expected to fall Wednesday through Saturday
While the Pacific Northwest stays wet and windy, much of southern California and the southwest U.S. will stay dry and sunny during the Thanksgiving holiday. Most areas will experience highs in the 60s and 70s.
The Central U.S.
After seeing the first snow storm of the season last week over parts of the northern Plains and New England area, a fairly unsettled and seasonably chilly pattern will continue across the nation's mid-section. A fairly active storm track will persist over the Plains region as a few low pressure systems will be traversing the area. The first system will be heading east across the Great Lakes and into the Ohio River Valley region on Wednesday. This system will bring rain showers from Illinois into Ohio on Wednesday, with some showers stretching all the way south into northern Alabama and Georgia. Further north, rain turns to some wet snow over portions of Wisconsin and Michigan. Snow isn't expected to be particularly impressive at this point, but there will likely be amounts of a few inches into northern portions of the region, with a few areas seeing locally higher amounts. By Thursday, another low will be heading east bringing some light snow across portions of the eastern Dakotas and into central and southern Minnesota. A few rain showers may also pass across parts of northern Nebraska and into Iowa. This low is expected to remain fairly weak, as the snowfall potential should stay to a few inches or less over the region. By Friday, this system will exit Minnesota and bring some light snows into Wisconsin and Michigan.
By Friday, a quieter pattern is expected for a few days as a ridge of high pressure builds over the middle of the country. This will result in a drier pattern along with a warming trend expected over the region into the weekend.
Image Courtesy: hpc.noaa.gov (Shaded areas indicate percentage chances of seeing 2 or more inches of snow from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning)
The Eastern U.S.
The low pressure system in the Ohio River Valley on Wednesday will be heading into the mid-Atlantic and New England region on Thanksgiving day. The forecast models continue to agree that this system will continue to weaken as it moves to the eastern U.S. This will result in dissipating precipitation with this system, as a few scattered rain showers will dot areas from the Carolinas northward to New Jersey. Further north sct'd light snow will be found in upstate New York and Massachusetts, as well as Maine. Any accumulations are expected to remain light for most.
A second low pressure system will move into the area Friday night and into the weekend. This low pressure system is expected to strengthen as it heads into the area, eventually deepening as it builds off the southeast coast of Maine. As the system pulls moisture in from the Atlantic, heavy snow will be possible over much of Maine and portions of northern New England. This potential heavy snow event will need to be watched as it may create major travel issues over the region.
Potential Weather Setup This Weekend
Although much of the southern U.S. will remain fairly quiet this Thanksgiving holiday, portions of the northern U.S. will stay quite active. Some of the tougher travel areas will remain in the Pacific Northwest and into parts of New England. For a more detailed local forecast for anywhere in the country, you can always check weatherology.com. With Weatherology.com, you can also stay on top of the latest look at airport delays across the country. We want to wish everyone safe travels this Thanksgiving holiday season. Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at Weatherology.
