Thanksgiving Travel Forecast: Storms Expected to Impact Central US
With just a week to go before one of the busiest travel periods of the year, the Thanksgiving forecast is beginning to come into focus. Long-range guidance indicates that a large storm system may move across the Plains and Central US leading up-to or on Thanksgiving Day. FOX Weather Meteorologist Haley Meier has a preview.
A record-breaking 81.8 million Americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles for Thanksgiving, according to travel company AAA, a 1.6 million person increase over last year. This makes Thanksgiving the busiest holiday in terms of travel, with 73 million people expected to drive to their destination, making up 90% of all holiday travelers.
Storms Expected to Develop in the South
While the specifics of the holiday week forecast are still coming into focus, the FOX Forecast Center said early long-range guidance indicates the potential for storms across the central U.S. leading up to and on Thanksgiving Day. Storms are expected to develop in the South on Monday and move into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Tuesday.
Some six million are expected to travel by plane, a 2% increase from last year, despite the recent government shutdown. Travel by bus, rail or cruise has also increased over last year, according to AAA. The company defines the Thanksgiving travel period as the dates from Tuesday, Nov. 25 to Monday, Dec. 1.
Popular Thanksgiving Destinations
Florida tops the list of AAA’s domestic Thanksgiving travel destinations this year, with Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami taking the top three spots respectively. New York and California are also some of the most popular Thanksgiving destinations and both are expected to be dry for Thanksgiving.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, storms are expected across the Southeast next Monday and Tuesday, with conditions drying out by mid-week, in time for Thanksgiving Day itself. Traffic analytics company INRIX, cited by AAA, noted that the afternoons of Tuesday, Nov. 25 and Wednesday, Nov. 26, are expected to be the most congested periods on the road.
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FILE – Traffic moves along Interstate 80 in Emeryville, California, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. AAA projects 79.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.
(Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images) -
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FILE – Travelers wait in line at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in Dallas, Texas, US, on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. US air travel is starting to show signs of strain as lawmakers remain divided over a government shutdown that has stretched into its third week.
(Photographer: Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images) -
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FILE – NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 27: Passengers line up at the gate for an Amtrak train on the day before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend November 27, 2002 in New York City. Airline and train employees are preparing for one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
((Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images))
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