Travel trouble trio: A sprawling Thanksgiving storm, Arctic cold and lake-effect snow could cause issues

By Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist

(CNN) — Mother Nature is about to serve up some unappetizing conditions for the millions of Thanksgiving travelers: sloppy weather, snow, the coldest temperatures since February and a potentially disruptive storm are on the way through the holiday weekend.

Here’s a day-by-day look at what to expect this week.

Wednesday

Dry, calm and largely sunny weather will shift into the East for last-minute travelers during the day.

A storm will start to organize in the afternoon over the southern Plains and Mississippi Valley after a dry start to the day in the central US. This storm will spread rain from the center of the country to the Appalachians overnight.

Rain could mix with snow for a time in the evening from Illinois into northern Pennsylvania and southern New York. This would create slick conditions for any early morning travelers on Thanksgiving.

After an active weather stretch, the West is also looking great for Wednesday, and the dry stretch will last through the busy travel period into at least early next week.

Heavy snow in western Colorado Tuesday night is expected to wind Wednesday afternoon. Higher elevations in western Colorado will approach 2 to 3 feet of snow. Denver could see 1 to 3 inches of snow Wednesday, but with temperatures in the middle 30s, motorists should not see significant travel impacts.

As the snow comes to an end in the Rockies, the storm system will begin to spread rain into the Midwest and Mississippi valleys on Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday evening the rain will move into the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.

Thursday

Much of the US will be dry but cold on Thanksgiving Day with the exception of the East.

Rain will stretch from the Southeast to the Northeast, with light snow for interior portions of the Northeast and northern New England.

“I think Thursday is going to be our messiest day,” CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa said Tuesday afternoon. “A lot of us will be looking at some soggy turkeys for Thanksgiving” with travel issues along much of the East Coast.

Rain won’t be heavy enough to produce flooding but could lead to poor visibility at times for motorists. Many areas from the Gulf Coast through New England will pick up less than an inch of rain.

Dreary weather with low clouds could cause issues at times for Eastern Seaboard airports.

Wet, sloppy snow will fall in the Northeast’s highest elevations Thursday. A few inches could pile up by late Thursday night in northern New York and New England.

Some areas will see really cold temperatures move in.

“The first significant Arctic outbreak of the season will arrive in the Northern Plains on Thanksgiving,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

Friday and the weekend

Dry but frigid conditions will build over the US.

Morning low temperatures for millions will be the coldest that they’ve been in the better part of a year. High temperatures will top out at late December or January-like levels.

The Thanksgiving day storm will largely be out of the East by sunrise but lake-effect snow will start up for areas downwind of the Great Lakes as Arctic air rushes over the record-warm lakes.

Feet of snow could pile up in some locations over the course of a few days as it continues to fall into next week.

Wind gusts of 20 to 30 mph will make it quite breezy across the Midwest through much of Friday. These gusts could cause issues for busy airports in the region.

The National Weather Service said weather disruptions to highway travel are likely Friday through Monday on Interstate 90 between Cleveland and Buffalo and Interstate 81 north of Syracuse due to lake-effect snow.

“Travel could be very difficult to impossible in the hardest hit areas,” the weather service said. “Forecast accumulations will become more clear as the event approaches.”

The National Weather Service office in Buffalo said some major roadways could close because of very poor visibility and deep snow cover.

Coldest air since last winter incoming

A widespread blast of cold, Arctic air is looming for a huge part of the US.

“Temperatures are likely to be the coldest since mid-February in the Northern Plains and Midwest, providing an abrupt change from the record, or near-record, warm autumn so far,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

Chicago will struggle to reach the mid-30s on Thanksgiving Day — a temperature more appropriate for late December. Parts of North Dakota will barely reach the teens and will feel more like January.

Millions from coast to coast will be frigid by Friday. Low temperatures early Friday morning will plummet below zero in the Dakotas and drop to the teens and single digits in much of the north-central US.

High temperatures as far south as the Gulf Coast will likely be 10 or more degrees below normal and some locations might not reach the 60s.

Many locales in the central and eastern US will experience their coldest conditions so far this season over the weekend.

Philadelphia hasn’t recorded a high in the 30s since February but could come close both Saturday and Sunday. The same can be said of New York City.

Cold air will stick around for much of the East as the calendar flips to December and could last through the first week of the new month, according to forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center.

CNN Meteorologist Taylor Ward contributed to this report.

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