As the holiday season is in full swing and tens of millions of people across the country begin to travel and gather with friends and family, the FOX Prediction Center continues to monitor the weather forecast for Thanksgiving week.
The vast majority of people across the United States should arrive at their Thanksgiving destinations without too much trouble. But that forecast changes over the weekend as people prepare to head home after the festivities.
Nearly 80 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles for Thanksgiving this year, with peak travel days being the Tuesday and Wednesday before the holiday and the Sunday after the holiday.
West Coast braces for more rain and mountain snow ahead of Thanksgiving
A deadly multi-day atmospheric river event that hit parts of the West last week has come to an end. But the FOX Prediction Center continues to track the last of a series of low-pressure systems approaching the West Coast, potentially bringing more rain and snow to the region at the beginning of the busy Thanksgiving travel week.
Snow is expected to be confined to the higher elevations of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada, so travelers are urged to take precautions and drive slowly when driving through the region's mountain roads. There is.
Areas at lower elevations will experience total rain. Most of the Interstate 5 corridor from California to Oregon and Washington is experiencing gloomy weather to start the week, but conditions are slowly improving with each passing day, according to the FOX Prediction Center.
Forecasters believe the heaviest rain could fall across Central California, with more than 5 inches possible in some places. Although flash flooding does not appear to be a major issue at this time, travelers may encounter disruptions on roads and airports in Salt Lake City (SLC), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Saint-Saint-Germain, and more. Francisco (SFO).
The system should then break out into the Rocky Mountains, but some questions remain about how it will evolve there. The storm could strengthen into a new low-pressure system, increasing the chance of rain and snow across large swaths of the Rocky Mountains.
Cities like Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Denver could all see some form of precipitation by Wednesday. Snow falling in the mountains will likely be measured in feet, but the total amount of snow and its impact on lower elevations will depend largely on the exact path of the storm.
As of Sunday, the FOX Prediction Center does not expect any major impacts to Denver.
Winter storm impacts Northeastern Thanksgiving travel
The storm system will also move out of the plains starting Sunday and move into the Great Lakes region as soon as the new week begins.
The FOX Forecast Center said it expects the new system to be less powerful than previous systems.
The chance of snow in the Great Lakes region will be limited as the cold air will be kept farther north. Michigan's Upper Peninsula will likely see the heaviest snowfall as lake effect snow picks up in earnest.
Cities like Chicago and Milwaukee will largely avoid the snow, but as it moves from the region, winds will pick up and could cause some delays at airports and roads.
The low pressure system will strengthen further as it moves into the Northeast later this week, bringing rain on Tuesday and potentially slowing travel times for people traveling before Thanksgiving.
Snow is possible along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, but rain will have a bigger impact.
The rain is expected to impact travel along Interstate 95 on the East Coast, and low visibility and strong winds could cause disruptions at all major airports.
A cold front is also expected to move through the Southeast, bringing rain and thunderstorms to the region into Wednesday morning. No severe weather is expected, but rain could cause delays in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Frigid temperatures invade US after Thanksgiving
A larger, more powerful winter storm is then expected to roll into the Northeast and New England on Thanksgiving Day and continue into the weekend. The storm is likely to have an even bigger impact on travel as people head home after Thanksgiving.
More rain is expected along Interstate 95, but there are growing concerns that heavy snow could hit inland parts of the region.
The FOX Prediction Center predicts the coldest air of the season will enter the United States from Canada the day after Thanksgiving and into early December.
Temperatures are expected to be below normal across much of the United States, with parts of the Northern Plains expected to see temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius.
