Thanksgiving travel woes are brewing as a storm system begins to hit the US this weekend and track eastward in the days leading up to the holiday.
The storm started on the West Coast and is expected to produce wet weather along the cross-country road over the next few days.
On Sunday, the Pacific Northwest will face a rainy day with snow likely in higher mountain areas as the storm system makes landfall, causing dangerous travel across some higher mountain passes in the Cascades in Oregon and southern Washington.
In the Plains, a second system will bring isolated thunderstorms over parts of Oklahoma. Widespread instability does not appear to be in the cards, which is usually an essential ingredient for severe weather outbreaks. However, computer forecast models indicate abundant moisture will be available, which is another catalyst for rain and thunderstorm activity. Any storm could result in some gusty winds and small hail.
Communities around Oklahoma City and Tulsa have the highest potential for thunderstorm activity.
Wet weather is expected to slide eastward during the busy Thanksgiving travel week. Here is an overview of the daily forecast.
Wet weather from the west could continue to produce rain, thunderstorms and possibly hail.Getty Images
Monday: A severe storm threat enters the Lower Mississippi Valley
On Monday, wet weather will spread from the Rockies through the Gulf Coast to the Tennessee and Ohio valleys and the Southeast.
The most potentially problematic weather is along the Gulf Coast. Severe thunderstorms will develop Monday evening and into Monday night from East Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley and the Southeast, according to the FOX Prediction Center.
Damaging winds and a few tornadoes are expected to be the main concern, although isolated hail is also possible. Communities like Jackson in Mississippi and Baton Rouge in Louisiana are at Level 2 out of 5 on the NOAA Storm Prediction Center’s severe weather risk scale.
Elsewhere, a rainy day on the Plains with some snow possible in the Colorado Rockies.
The worst weather is expected along the Gulf Coast, with tornadoes a major concern. AFP via Getty Images
Tuesday: More widespread travel impacts are expected
On Tuesday, strong storms shifted east, creating what was forecast to be the worst day of the week to impact travel.
Heavy rain is expected across much of the Eastern US as the primary system moves into the Ohio Valley, and then a secondary system from Canada will dive south, giving an additional boost to the ongoing storm.
This will allow for light snow to break out on the northern edge of the storm across the Great Lakes and in higher elevations in upstate New York and northern New England, but it’s too early to determine how much accumulation is expected, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
The storm originates in the pacific, with limited cold air to draw on, so it will feature most of the rain elsewhere.
Rain will reach the Interstate 95 corridor in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Tuesday afternoon or evening and slide east across the region into Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, communities between New Orleans and Nashville, Tennessee, face the possibility of seeing an inch or two of rain, much-needed for the drought-stricken region.
Wednesday and Thanksgiving: Gradually dry
On Wednesday, one of the biggest travel days of the year, the storm system is expected to gradually slide off the East Coast, drying west-to-east rain during the day in the Northeast, though forecast models differ on how quickly the system moves east and in off the coast
Fortunately, models suggest that the wet weather should start to dry out by Thanksgiving. Fox WEATHER
A slower system will continue to bring rain to much of the East Coast, while a faster system could result in drier conditions Wednesday, the FOX Forecast Center said.
Thanksgiving overall looks quiet for most of the country, with just a little snow across the Northern Rockies and a period of rain in Texas.
But the forecast models deviated in their long-range predictions for what happened after Thanksgiving and people started heading home. There is a possibility that a second system develops after Wednesday’s storm, travels across the Central US on Friday and impacts the Eastern US next weekend. Details will be better defined in the coming days.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
