Post date: Nov 28, 2013 3:22:55 AM
A wintry blast of heavy rain, wind and snow across the eastern United States disrupted Thanksgiving holiday travel plans for some Americans.
WESTERN MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 27, 2013) (NBC) - A wintry blast of heavy rain, wind and snow across the eastern United States disrupted Thanksgiving travel plans on Wednesday (November 27) for some of the millions of Americans hitting the roads and taking to the skies on the busiest holiday travel day of the year.
While the travel delays were not as bad as many had feared, meteorologists warned that falling temperatures could create icy road conditions for those who put off travel until Wednesday night (November 27).The wintry weather caused around 265 flight cancellations and prompted delays at major airports along the East Coast, including Boston's Logan Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, according to the FlightAware.com tracking site.
Travel conditions were expected to worsen later on Wednesday, with a combination of precipitation and rapidly falling temperatures resulting in slick roads, according to AccuWeather.commeteorologist Bill Deger.
Rain was moderate to heavy in the Southeast, mid-Atlantic region and Northeast on Wednesday, with light to moderate snowfall from the southern Appalachians to western New York, the National Weather Service said.
The National Weather Service said western Pennsylvania, western New York and Vermont could get more than a foot (30.5 cm) of snow before skies cleared on Thursday. Flood watches were in effect for eastern portions of the Northeast United States.
On the 405 freeway on the west side of Los Angeles, the highway looked more like a parking lot.
The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the nation's busiest travel times, with 43 million Americans expected to make trips this weekend, travel group AAA said.
Some 37 percent of travelers will leave on Wednesday, making it the year's busiest single day of holiday travel, AAA said. That travel forecast was expected to hold true despite the stormy conditions, AAA spokeswoman Heather Hunter said.