DENVER — The week of Thanksgiving is widely regarded as the busiest travel stretch of the year. While a wide swath of the country will enjoy relatively calm weather in the lead-up to Thanksgiving, a few areas on the East Coast could see some weather-related travel disruptions.
A sharp cold front moving from west to east will bring a round of heavy rain and gusty winds with it, potentially leading to some travel headaches Tuesday and early Wednesday along the Eastern Seaboard.
Cities like Boston, New York and Washington could see a round of heavy rain and gusty winds Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Behind the front, strong winds could affect flights for the eastern third or so of the country on Tuesday and Wednesday. Gusts could reach 40 or even 50 mph in the upper Midwest and the Northeast, leading to the potential for some flight delays.
Behind the cold front, a large area of high pressure should keep the weather relatively calm across the rest of the country, with the exception of a few rain and snow showers across the Pacific Northwest.
High pressure budges east for Thanksgiving, leading to generally calmer conditions across the eastern two-thirds of the country on Thanksgiving Day. That said, lake effect snow could pile up in parts of upstate New York on Thanksgiving Day, and some snow and much colder temperatures will push into the Rocky Mountains on Thanksgiving, as well.