Early Thanksgiving week forecast: Where Americans can expect cold, rain and snow for the holiday

Americans are gearing up for the busiest travel time of the year as Thanksgiving Day approaches. Nearly 82 million Americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles for Thanksgiving this year, an increase of 2% from last year’s record of 80.2 million, according to AAA’s projections .

Most of those Americans, 73.3 million, will travel to their Thanksgiving destination by car, while 6 million are expected to travel by plane. To help travelers keep an eye on any logistics, here’s what meteorologists are forecasting weather-wise.

While AAA expects Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving Day will be the busiest on the road, for any “early bird” travelers looking to get ahead of that traffic, here’s what the forecast will look like starting with this weekend.

Early Thanksgiving travel this weekend

Friday

This Friday is “potentially the worst” day for early Thanksgiving travel, according to the Weather Channel .

The Gulf Coast could experience some potential storms, while the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, as well as the Central Plains, could see heavy rainfall. The central Rockies could also see some lingering snow.

In the Northeast, inland New England and high elevations of the Green Mountains and White Mountains could get some wintry precipitation. Slippery, icy conditions could disrupt travel on some highways, as it’s not quite cold enough for snow.

For the West Coast, a storm system that’s pushing onshore from this week will bring rain and mountain snow to the Southwest.

The following airport hubs may be impacted this Friday due to weather, according to the Weather Channel: Atlanta, New York, Boston, Washington, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Saturday

While there’s overall less precipitation forecast across the country, rain will still impact parts of the United States from eastern Texas up to Delaware, according to the Weather Channel. The southern Appalachian Mountains, near Tennessee and the Carolinas, could experience the heaviest rainfall, which could affect travel.

The weather starts to quiet down on the West Coast, with some lingering showers.

Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston and Seattle airports could be impacted, the Weather Channel reports.

Sunday

The Southern Rockies could see some rain and mountain snow, while light rain is possible across the southern Plains and Tennessee Valley. The Pacific Northwest could experience rain and mountain snow.

Week of Thanksgiving forecast

AccuWeather’s senior meteorologist Chad Merrill provided Yahoo with a national weather outlook for the week of Thanksgiving.

Western U.S.

• Early in the week, cold air will push from the Northwest into the Rockies and bring snow and gusty winds.

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