Winter Weather Woes: 2 Thanksgiving Travel Storms To Watch
BOSTON (CBS) - I can remember a time when the day before Thanksgiving was THE travel day of the year. Now, everything happens earlier. Many folks are making their way back home for Thanksgiving several days before the turkey goes in the oven. Heck, even Black Friday is coming earlier now with more and more stores opening on Thursday!
Like it or not, the holiday travel season has arrived and there is only one thing that can really foul up a trip home to see mom… the weather. And it isn't just the weather where you are coming from or going to, but it could also be the weather in between, or the weather where your plane or train is coming from. So, let's take a look at the overall weather story in the coming days and with any amount of luck, get you home in plenty of time for enjoy the Holiday.
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First and foremost there are no major snowstorms in the forecast before Thanksgiving. No nor'easters, no significant weather along the East Coast in any of the major Cities.
STORM 1: THE HEARTLANDS
There will be two storms of note for the United States in the next 7 days.
First, a powerful storm will come out of the Gulf of Mexico this weekend and drive right through the country's heartland. The good news with this storm, it will draw in lots of warm air and be mainly rain from the Gulf Coast though the Great Lakes and even into the Buffalo area currently buried in feet of snow. Most of the rain will fall Sunday and Monday, arriving here in New England late Sunday night. The bad news for those traveling in the Deep South, some severe weather is likely with this system. From Texas to Louisiana, there is the potential for some damaging winds and even tornadoes this weekend. This same storm will really bottom out over the Great Lakes on Monday, drawing in some very cold Arctic air from the north, changing the rain to snow in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin where several inches are likely to pile up. Here in New England and along the East Coast, we will stay on the warm side of this storm, temperatures will soar into the 60s, well above normal for late November.
STORM 2: THE MIDWEST TO THE NORTHEAST
The jury is still out on this one…it appears likely that another piece of energy will dive south out of Canada around the middle of next week. One thing seems certain, yet another blast of frigid, Arctic air is going to blanket the Midwest and Northeast centered around next Thursday and Friday. The big question is, will a wintry storm come along with the cold blast? Something is likely to develop offshore, will it stay offshore or be pulled into the northeast by a digging jet stream? We will see.
For now I do not foresee any major weather headaches for most of next week. All of the big airport hubs should be snow and ice-free and for a few days, some temperature relief will come to the East Coast. Our atmosphere is still in a very volatile state with big dips and ridges in the jet stream so therefore it is a weather pattern that bears watching. Stay tuned to updated forecasts through this Weekend, let's hope for a low stress Holiday travel season! Stay Safe!
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