Thanksgiving Travel Outlook

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According to AccuWeather, 42,500,000 are going to travel for Thanksgiving this year. And, while the drought relief is vital, adverse weather is going to inconvenience many people and be dangerous for some. So, I want to give a comprehensive overview so you can better plan your week.

Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms


I'm really worried about this one. As we saw in the Carolinas last week, out-of-season tornadoes can be especially deadly. People don't associate tornadoes with November and/or people celebrating Thanksgiving from parts of the nation where tornadoes are rare don't know how to get the information they need then react accordingly.

The tornado and severe thunderstorm threat is geographically limited today.

The threat grows in size tomorrow (Monday):

and spreads east Tuesday.
Please view these as relative probabilities: 30% is a big deal 2 and 3 days out! These storms have the potential to cancel flights and disrupt already packed flights.

So, if you are flying in these areas, PLEASE read my Airline Survival Guide! All of the compliments I have received from fliers who have used the Guide are very gratifying...this advice works. So, put this advice to work for you. Airline hubs in Dallas, Houston, Nashville, and Cincinnati are going to be affected by these storms.

Flooding

If you are traveling by auto, flooding may be a problem both early this week and again next weekend in the area indicated below in both shades of green. There is the potential the flooding area will enlarge for next weekend over what is indicated here. All extra time and carry a road atlas in case you have to reroute. 

There is also a concern that some flooding may develop in parts of Washington and Oregon late in the week.


Snow

There is some good news: Outside of the Sierra passes -- where it will be very heavy -- snow will not be a big problem prior to Thanksgiving day. That will likely be a different story for the return home. I'll post on that in a day or two. Please check back.

Safe travels and enjoy Thanksgiving with your family and friends. We have so much to be thankful for.

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