With the Thanksgiving journey well underway, many have reached their destinations – but for everybody else, a storm stretching from the Rockies to the Midwest and Northeast will bring rain and snow through Thursday, which is more likely to impact flights and crowded streets.
Nearly three million people were expected to be screened by the Transportation Security Administration on Wednesday, and a record 71.7 million were expected to drive over Thanksgiving – over 1 million greater than last yr.
The storm, which dropped snow across the Rocky Mountains Wednesday morning and tapered off within the afternoon, is predicted to maneuver east into the Midwest and Northeast throughout Wednesday through Thanksgiving.
It will bring rain with the potential for ice and snow increasing this evening from St. Louis to Indianapolis and into Pittsburgh.
Overnight, the storm will proceed to maneuver east, bringing cold rain along the I-95 corridor from Richmond to Boston in the course of the early hours of Thanksgiving morning.
By Wednesday evening, there have been reportedly almost 4,000 delays and 45 canceled flights inside, to or from the USA FlightAware.
American Airlines said it operated nearly 6,400 mainline and regional flights on Tuesday and expected greater than 650,000 customers to travel on nearly 6,400 flights on Wednesday – that's nearly 4.5 American flights departing every minute of the day.
A Ground lag Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey was under a closure from 1 p.m. ET Wednesday until 2 a.m. Thursday as a result of a shortage of air traffic controllers.
In total, there have been greater than 300 delays from Newark on Wednesday, some lasting not less than 95 minutes.
The FAA continued X Delays were expected in Denver and Salt Lake City Wednesday afternoon as a result of snow and ice.
In those cities, airport officials were busy de-icing planes to organize them for departure. Denver was lead the pack with 600 flight delays on Wednesday.
Delays were also common in Boston, Dallas and Las Vegas, where delays were within the triple digits, in accordance with FlightAware.
Fog in Tampa impacted departures Wednesday, with Tampa International Airport reporting 37 delayed departures, in accordance with FlightAware. Delays were also a problem in Seattle and Los Angeles, where low ceilings were expected to have some impact on operations, the FAA said earlier Wednesday.
For road travelers, I-80, I-64 and I-75 were affected by rain Wednesday, and I-25 and I-70 within the Rocky Mountains were affected by snow.
Thanksgiving will bring heavy rain for the I-95 corridor from Florida to Maine and heavy snow for the inside Northeast and New England.
Points north of the Hudson Valley in northern New York State and inland New England can expect 1 to three inches of wet snow, with local totals exceeding 6 inches on the very best mountain peaks.
From northeastern Pennsylvania to New Hampshire, 3 to six inches of snow – and possibly more – are possible, with windy conditions potentially causing power outages within the region.
The legendary Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will proceed rain or shineas pouring rain is forecast for the Big Apple with temperatures within the 40s. Wind speeds of lower than 10 miles per hour are forecast, allowing balloons to fly. The parade's popular balloons cannot fly when maximum sustained winds reach 23 miles per hour or more or when gusts reach greater than 34 miles per hour.
Cities on the East Coast, including Baltimore, Washington, DC, New York, Hartford and Boston, can expect cold rain, with rainfall amounts starting from 0.50 to 1 inch. Traffic can be smooth as far west as Virginia and Maryland, including along the I-95 corridor into Maine.
Travel conditions will largely return to normal in the course of the overnight hours into Friday morning because the system moves out of the New England region.
However, cold winds will move into New England and a lake effect snow event across the Great Lakes and proceed through Sunday.
Airport hubs to regulate Thursday include Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, NYC, Boston, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
On Sunday – typically the busiest travel day of Thanksgiving week as people return home from holiday trips – the cold will proceed across much of the country, as will lake-effect snow across the Great Lakes and the Northeast.
A complete of three million persons are expected to go through TSA on Sunday, a near record 3.01 million set on the Sunday following the Fourth of July holiday this yr.
Chicago and Detroit could experience some problems at their airports on Sunday, however the East and West Coasts look like favorable for road and air travel.
Meanwhile, much of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest can be bitterly cold by the tip of the week, with temperatures 10 to twenty degrees below average starting on Thanksgiving.
Thursday through Sunday will see highs within the 30s and 20s and lows in the teenagers in Chicago, highs within the 40s and lows falling to around 28°F in New York, and highs within the 50s and 40s in DC -Range and lows within the 30s and high 20s. Minneapolis will see lows in the one digits over the weekend.
As travelers take to the skies to accompany their family members, authorities are warning individuals who park their cars in airport parking lots to watch out about vehicle theft.
More than 300 cars have been stolen from the country's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, this yr – nearly 3 times as many as last yr, Atlanta police said.
“Suspects can program key fobs onto vehicles, and that’s what got us to where we are now,” said Maj. Kelley Collier, the Atlanta airport district commander. This yr, police are introducing cameras, motorcycle patrols and latest fences to curb crime within the 30,000 parking spaces.
More than 50 vehicles were also stolen from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport this yr in what police say was a automobile theft ring that targeted airports in several states. DFW Airport Police arrested the alleged ringleader last month.
A girl named Katy told NBC News that she and her husband were on a business trip and returned to Columbus International Airport to seek out their automobile was missing.
“Complete disbelief that we had parked at an airport and came out and our car was gone. We just assumed it was safer in that environment,” she said. Police later found it abandoned and completely stripped.
“I hope the airports increase their security so we can travel and come back and have your car there,” she added.
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