A storm pounding California’s Sierra Nevada mountains with snow Tuesday was taking aim at the Colorado Rockies and could roll east and slam the Appalachians on Thanksgiving Day, bringing unsettling travel weather to millions of Americans hitting the skies and roads for the holiday weekend.
Denver, a major travel hub, will likely see only a couple inches of snow Wednesday, but it could be enough to delay flights and slow travel along Interstate 25, 70 and 80, AccuWeather warns. Then the storm will head east.
Factors that could impact the precise track and type of precipitation were still playing out Tuesday, AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
“Track and intensity (will be) the keys to where the rain and snow line will set up and the amount of snow that will fall in the Midwest and Northeast,” Rayno said.
No matter how the storm plays out, rain and snow could cause significant disruptions for tens of millions travelers, he said.
Developments:
∎ Cold temperatures could add to the havoc. By Saturday morning, about196 million Americans will be waking up to below-freezing temperatures, according to Weather.com.
∎ Overall, temperatures by the weekend in many locations will be more typical of mid-January, the National Weather Service.
Will it snow on Thanksgiving?How winter storms could affect your holiday travel
Record travel also in forecast
Weather woes will be crucial this week as the nation faces some of the busiest travel days of the year. AAA projects 79.9 million people will travel 50 miles or more from their homes for Thanksgiving from Tuesday to Monday. That representss an increase of 1.7 million over last year and 2 million more than in 2019.
Stacey Barber, vice President of AAA Travel, said she is “expecting to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising.”
The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to see its busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record, estimating its agents will screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday through Dec. 2. TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the 10 busiest travel days in the TSA’s history have all occurred in 2024, adding that “we anticipate that trend to continue.”
Colorado snow forecast:Multiple feet expected in the Rockies amid winter storm warnings
Rockies greet holiday with up to 4 feet of snow
Heavy snow showers of 1 to 2 feet are expected to blanket the Colorado Rockies and Intermountain West this week. Isolated areas will see up to 4 feet of snow as a cyclone moves inland, forecasters say.
Snowfall is expected to peak from Tuesday through Wednesday, and 10 to 20 inches will impact high elevation areas above 9,500 feet, the weather service in Boulder reported. Winter weather advisories go in effect Tuesday night for the Palmer Divide ridge in central Colorado and the state’s southern foothills.
Rainfall will either be replaced or accompanied by snow early Tuesday for the Denver metro area and the Palmer Divide, according to the service.
− Anthony Robledo
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