Thanksgiving weather forecast: Where to expect travel delays
Traveling to your Thanksgiving destination may be smoother than heading home, with a cross-country storm potentially bringing widespread rain and snow Friday through Sunday.
Here’s a look at the Thanksgiving week weather forecast:
Thursday
Most of the country will be dry on Thanksgiving.
But in the Great Lakes region, the lake-effect snow machine will turn on and start dumping snow to the downwind side of the Great Lakes through Friday.
Snow continues to pile up in parts of Michigan and will get heavier Thursday for western Pennsylvania and New York.
A lake-effect snow warning is in place for places including Orchard Park, New York, and Watertown, New York, until 1 a.m. Saturday, with 1 to 2 feet of snow possible in these areas -- creating whiteout conditions through the Thanksgiving holiday.
Syracuse, New York, is also under a lake-effect snow warning, with 7 to 14 inches of snow in the forecast from Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning.
Additionally, Buffalo, New York, is under a winter weather advisory for 1 to 3 inches of snow and wind gusts reaching 50 mph.
New York City could see wind gusts up to 35 mph with temperatures in the lower 40s, feeling like the lower 30s.
Friday
On Friday, a new storm system will begin moving cross-country from the Pacific Northwest.
The storm may bring snow on Friday to the northern Plains -- from Montana and the Dakotas to Iowa.
Winter storm watches are already in place for late Friday night through late Saturday night across the Midwest.
Saturday
On Saturday, rain is possible from Kansas and Missouri to Louisiana, while snow is possible from Nebraska to Michigan, including Minneapolis, St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit.
In Chicago, the snow will start at around 7 a.m. local time Saturday and continue until 12 p.m., with 6 to 10 inches possible.
Six to 12 inches of snow is possible from Des Moines to Chicago to St. Louis, which will create whiteout conditions and very dangerous travel across the Midwest on Saturday, which is when the heaviest snow will fall.
Sunday
By Sunday afternoon and evening, this system may bring rain to much of the East Coast, especially the Northeast, with temperatures too warm for widespread snow.
Sunday is predicted to be the busiest air travel day for Thanksgiving.
Elsewhere will be dry on Sunday, aside from mountain snow in Utah and Colorado.
ABC News' Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.
