Latest Thanksgiving forecast calls for snow, rain and bitter cold as millions travel

A cross-country storm, a blast of Arctic air and an outbreak of showers and thunderstorms are threatening to snarl traffic and pile up delays at airports through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, one of the nation's busiest travel periods.

A sweeping storm that brought snow across the West is forecast to blast the Colorado Rockies before moving further east, unloading heavy rain across the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys Wednesday night. On Thanksgiving, the storm is forecast to dump 4 to 8 inches of snow across the northern Appalachians as rain soaks major cities throughout Northeast, according to the National Weather Service.

Roads across Colorado were closed on Wednesday as crews worked to plow snow off major thoroughfares, according to the state's Department of Transportation. The Federal Aviation Administration said flights departing from Denver and Salt Lake City International "are being sprayed with deicing fluid to remove snow and ice." No major delays have been announced.

More: Which states could get snow on Thanksgiving Day 2024? See forecast maps

Showers and thunderstorms are projected drench much of the I-95 corridor late Wednesday and on turkey day, impacting cities including Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York City and Boston, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. Rain is also in the forecast for parts of the Southeast, including northern Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Communities throughout the Great Lakes region could see the worst of the incoming holiday weather, with multiple feet of snow and whiteout conditions in the forecast. Parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio and western New York could see snowfall rates as high as 2 to 3 inches per hour, with the heaviest bands dropping visibility near zero, creating a dangerous hazard prompting warnings from weather officials and local authorities.

Crews working to plow snow-covered roads in Colorado

Roads across Colorado, including in the Denver and Boulder metro areas, were closed Wednesday morning as snow continued to fall and interrupt Thanksgiving travelers.

Among the dozens of closed roads was a section of U.S. Route 50 shut down for “snow removal operations,” according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. U.S. Route 50, a major highway crossing in Colorado, runs across the country from West Sacramento, California, to Ocean City, Maryland.

The transportation department announced on Tuesday that it suspended until spring a resurfacing project on U.S. Route 34 and U.S. Route 36, which involved improvements to the sidewalks and retaining wall along both major roadways.

“This pause is essential to ensure the safety of both the traveling public and work crews during winter weather,” the state agency said in a statement. “Work is set to resume in the spring until late May 2025.”

More: Want to travel safer to Thanksgiving dinner? Stay off Instagram

Winter storm watches for Northeast warn of icy roads, low visibility

Across parts of the Midwest and Northeast, winter storm watches warned of heavy lake-effect snow and treacherous driving conditions over the long holiday weekend.

In Cleveland and Maine, weather officials said they expected more than 7 inches of snow to fall by Tuesday. The National Weather Service office in Buffalo, New York, warned of more than a foot of heavy lake-effect snow, with winds gusts as high as 30 mph.

"There is uncertainty in exact band placement and amounts, but multiple periods of heavy snow are possible. Travel could be very difficult to impossible with very poor visibility and deep snow cover on roads," the office said in a weather alert. "Some major roadways could temporarily close. The hazardous conditions could impact the post-Thanksgiving travel period, especially along Interstate 81."

Arctic blast to bring bitter cold to central, eastern US

An Arctic blast is dropping temperatures across the northern Plains, Midwest and eastern U.S. to lows not experienced since last winter.

As the first sub-zero temperatures set in across the Dakotas and Minnesota ahead of Thanksgiving, temperatures in and around, Dallas, Texas and Atlanta could dip near freezing for the first time this season. On Friday morning, Chicago could see single-digit temperatures.

"The cold blast will feel like January and will deliver a significant shock to hundreds of millions of people who may have gotten used to warm conditions during much of the autumn,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok.

Meteorologists say the cool air will come in waves this December, which is on pace to be much colder than last year for the Midwest and Northeast. "This December, we believe temperatures will be perhaps a few degrees below the historical average with an approximate difference of 15 degrees for the month as a whole,” Pastelok said.

A record number of people are traveling for Thanksgiving

Some 79.9 million people will travel 50 miles or more from their homes for Thanksgiving from Tuesday to Monday, according to the American Automobile Association. That represents an increase of 1.7 million over last year and 2 million more than in 2019.

Stacey Barber, vice President of AAA Travel, said she is expecting to see "new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising."

The Transportation Security Administration also said it expects the busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record, estimating its agents will screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday through Dec. 2. TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the 10 busiest travel days in the TSA's history have all occurred in 2024, adding that "we anticipate that trend to continue."

Contributing: John Bacon, Doyle Rice and Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thanksgiving storm forecast calls for snow, rain and bitter cold