Those who save their Thanksgiving travel for the day of could encounter snares when it comes to roads in the eastern half of the nation.
An updated forecast from AccuWeather shows the expected weather impacts across the nation as almost 80 million Americans are set to travel for the holiday, AAA reported. AccuWeather forecasts that "significant travel disruptions are anticipated for tens of millions" of travelers.
The busiest travel days are expected to be Tuesday and Wednesday, but for people who have shorter distances to travel, saving the trip until Thanksgiving morning could come with a fair share of travel disruptions.
According to a map from AccuWeather, rain and thunderstorms are expected to hit a large swath of the country from Louisiana northeast through Pennsylvania on Thursday, which could slow travelers. Further north, several inches of snow could cause disruptions across the Midwest and up into the Northeast.
Though the inclement weather might occur after the busiest travel days, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told Newsweek that winter weather could still impact those who postpone their travel until the last minute, or who have less than a few hours to drive to their destination.
National Weather Service (NWS) offices across the impacted regions are already issuing alerts about the possibility for poor weather.
"A mix of rain and snow will move across the region Wednesday into Wednesday night. Although most will see little to no snow accumulation, there is potential for a narrow band of snow to bring at least 1 inch of snow somewhere north of I-70 (30-40 percent chance)," the NWS office in Lincoln, Illinois, said in a hazardous weather outlook. "If this happens, minor travel impacts could result."
Even if people reach their destination safely on Turkey Day, a "significant" lake effect snow event could disrupt travel in the Northeast as people journey back home on Friday or over the weekend.
"The potential exists for a significant long duration lake effect snow event. There is considerable uncertainty in exact band placement and amounts, but multiple periods of heavy snow are possible," NWS Buffalo warned in a winter storm watch. "Travel could be very difficult to impossible with very poor visibility and deep snow cover on roads. Some major roadways could temporarily close. The hazardous conditions could impact the post-Thanksgiving holiday travel period."
Meanwhile, the most recent atmospheric river that dumped a deluge on California earlier in the week will have moved out of the region, leaving travelers in the west free to travel home without weather disruptions.
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