While much of the United States will see mild weather as 54 million travelers leave home to spend the Thanksgiving holiday elsewhere, pockets of the country could pose problems for travelers of all kinds.
Snow in parts of the northeastern United States, rain-dampened wildfire smoke in Northern California, downpours in southeast Texas and "light freezing drizzle" in sections of the Upper Midwest could affect Thanksgiving travelers in trains, planes and automobiles as the holiday approaches, according to Accuweather.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) predicted 54 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving, a 4.8 percent increase from 2017. AAA includes its data from all forms of travel — car, airplanes, trains and watercraft.
Most travelers, 48.5 million of the 54 million, will take to the roads.
"INRIX, a global mobility analytics company, predicts travel times in the most congested cities in the U.S. could be as much as four times longer than a normal trip," reported Accuweather.
In the Northeast, meteorologists predict snow of up to three inches to fall across northern Pennsylvania on Monday evening and spread to New England by Tuesday. The storm could also dump as much as six inches of snow if it picks up steam. Motorists are warned to expect icy and snowy roads.
Parts of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine could be hit the hardest and disrupt more travelers and commuters.
Travelers who hoped to spend the holiday in San Francisco may want to double-check their flight status as Northern California wildfire smoke took its toll on airline flights before last weekend, NBC Bay Area TV reported.
San Francisco International Airport officials say nearly 200 flights were delayed last Friday and about 500 — or 40 percent of total flights — were delayed last Thursday due to low visibility and smoke.
Meteorologists also forecast rain in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving week starting Wednesday morning. Officials expect the precipitation to help dissipate some of the wide-spread smoke and haze that has plagued the Bay Area since destructive Camp Fire began nearly two weeks ago.
Wildfire smoke in the air causes low visibility for pilots and delays for travels.
As a precaution, the San Francisco International Airport website urges fliers to check with individual airlines for specific flight status and details. Officials encourage travels to monitor the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Air Quality Index at www.airnow.gov to check destination air conditions.
In Houston, downpours could reduce visibility on roads and minor airline delays could hamper travelers early in the week.
But Tuesday bodes drier for Interstate 10 drivers from San Antonio to Houston. Wet conditions are forecast for southern and coastal Texas.
From northern Minnesota into northern Michigan, light snow may fall.
"Any snow with this system may be pinned to the north woods of northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Warmer-than-average temperatures can be expected in the northern and central Plains," reported Weather.com.
No major storm systems are expected in the Rocky Mountains until potentially the weekend after Thanksgiving.
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