Thanksgiving 2024 travel forecast: Brace for rain, snow and delays

An estimated 80 million Americans will travel on Thanksgiving holiday week, according to AAA ? and the weather may make a busy travel week even worse.

"The final week of November could be turbulent across the U.S. as several storms track coast to coast, delivering rain, wind and even a bit of snow to some major cities and well-traveled interstates," said AccuWeather meteorologist Brian Lada in an online report.

According to Lada, travel troubles may start brewing the weekend before Thanksgiving as rain and mountain snow continue to clobber the West Coast, and a slow-moving, windswept storm spins over the Northeast.

Weekend before Thanksgiving weather forecast

How does the weather this weekend look? According to Weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce, m?uch of the country will be dry, but the West Coast and the Northeast could have some rainy, snowy and windy trouble spots.

He said r?ain showers are possible from California to the Pacific Northwest, with rain and mountain snow extending eastward into the Rockies.

"I?n the Northeast, a lingering low-pressure system will produce scattered areas of rain and high-elevation snowflakes, mainly across interior areas and New England on Saturday," Dolce said in an online forecast.

Air travel could be disrupted in the Northeast this weekend due to the strong winds across the region, AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok told USA TODAY. Be prepared for delays, he said.

Thanksgiving week forecast

Tuesday and Wednesday should be the busiest days on the road, and disruptive weather could occur both days in the lead-up to Thanksgiving, AccuWeather predicts.

"One storm over the eastern half of the country is forecast to spread rain and snow showers across the Great Lakes, while periods of rain dampen areas from the Ohio Valley southward into Arkansas and Tennessee," said Lada. "Rain could then advance toward the major Northeast cities along the Interstate 95 corridor Wednesday."

At the same time, the weekend storm in the West will moving inland with rain showers and snow in the mountains."The fresh snow in the mountains, along with powder that fell earlier in the month, could promote great skiing weather across the West, including in the Sierra and Rocky Mountains," Lada said.

Thanksgiving day forecast

Thanksgiving Day is still a week away so it's on the outer limits of accurate forecasting, but Pastelok said there will likely be a storm "over the Mississippi Valley, with significant rain and thunderstorms possible." The northern edge of the storm could include some sleet and mixed precipitation on Thanksgiving Day, he said.

There will also be snow showers in the Rockies on Thanksgiving, Pastelok said, more good news for skiers.

In New York City, for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, with several storms expected to be tracking across the country throughout the week, parade attendees should "prepare for the possibility of some rain," AccuWeather said.This article was updated to add a new video.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thanksgiving travel weather forecast: Brace for rain, snow and delays