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Millions of travelers Tuesday will battle severe weather and congested highways to reach loved ones for Thanksgiving. And according to forecasters, for many, it’s going to be a cold one.
The National Weather Service said in an update early Monday that a pair of weather systems were expected to bring an “Arctic outbreak” across the Central United States on Wednesday and into Thanksgiving.
And while there haven’t been reports of widespread disruptions so far, air travelers in particular may face serious problems Tuesday, near the peak of the travel period.
All major New York-area airports — Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia — could order a ground stop un until 10 p.m. ET, stranding passengers, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The warning of delays is due to a shortage of air traffic control staff.
Similar ground stops are possible Tuesday at San Francisco Airport; Harry Reid International Airport near Las Vegas and Boston Logan International Airport may also order ground stops because of low visibility due to bad weather and capacity issues related to the weekend’s Formula 1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas.
Freezing holiday weather
Temperatures in the northern Great Plains will only reach the high teens and 20s Tuesday and Wednesday, 15-25 degrees lower than the seasonal average. The weather service office for the Twin Cities said that Thursday could see lows of zero to 13 degrees Fahrenheit.
In central and southern California, the Great Basin and the Rockies, an atmospheric river event — an airborne flow of moisture that can bring heavy precipitation — was set to bring rain, as well as up to 3 feet of snow, in the southern Sierra Nevada.
It will be a wintry Thanksgiving for parts of the Upper Michigan Peninsular and areas downwind of Lake Ontario, with between 4 and 8 inches of snow expected.
Weather could affect travel plans
In addition to potential air traffic control-related delays in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Las Vegas, weather could have an impact on flights today in or out of cities including San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Denver, NBC News’ Al Roker said on the “TODAY” show.
On Wednesday, storms will move east across the Rockies and bring rain and snow, with airport delays likely in Denver, Kansas City and St. Louis. Air delays could also hit Dallas, Austin, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Nashville, Minneapolis and Atlanta.
On the roads, interstates 55, 64, 65, 75 and 80 could all be affected Wednesday. And on Thanksgiving Day itself, the storm will strengthen as it reaches the East Coast and bring heavy rain and snow, making driving difficult along the I-95 and several other major routes in the region.
“Our travel weather is going to be a real mess, you’re just going to have to pack your patience, take your time, you’re going to get to where you’re going — it just might not be when you expect to get there,” Roker said.
Despite the risk of future delays, airports have appeared to manage the flow of travelers so far. As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, there were only seven flight cancellations listed across the country on FlightAware’s “misery map” of airline disruption, with 205 delays.
Travel hubs also seemed to cope with an uptick in passengers Monday. “I grew up in Connecticut, so I’ve been through this airport thousands of times and I’ve never seen it this easy getting through customs — no line today,” the Rev. Jeff Couture, a Catholic priest who had just returned from a pilgrimage to Portugal, told NBC New York on Monday.
Janis and Ken Allen were flying to San Francisco from Newark on Monday to visit their daughter — having traveled by train from Philadelphia due to the lack of direct flights from there — and had not experienced any delays. They told NBC New York that they planned their return journey Dec. 3 to avoid the post-holiday crush, as consumer travel groups including the AAA have advised.
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