More than 2,500 flights to or from US airports were delayed late Sunday morning during the post-Thanksgiving travel rush as extreme weather conditions, including rain, high winds and snow, have swept the big cities.
Nearly 55 million people were expected to travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving weekend — “a 1.5% increase from 2021 and 98% of pre-pandemic volumes,” according to AAA. In addition to the 2,564 delayed flights as of 2:30 p.m. ET, 63 US flights had been canceled, according to FlightAware.com.
Wind advisories were in place Sunday for about 14 million people in the Ohio Valley and the Southeast, including Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; and Asheville, North Carolina.
A 53 mph gust of wind was reported early Sunday morning in Kentucky. Gusts this afternoon will range between 25 and 35 mph.
Sunday morning rain battered the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions, threatening morning travel for cities including Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Nashville, Tennessee and Charlotte, North Carolina.
This group of rain will continue to move northeast, bringing the heaviest showers to New York, Washington, DC and Boston early to mid-afternoon Sunday.
The rain will mostly end in the late afternoon and early evening in the Northeast, but some scattered showers may persist late Sunday evening through early Monday morning for parts of New England as the rain settles. turning to snow for some in northern Maine.
Storm totals will range from 0.5 to 1.25 inches of rain across the eastern third of the country.
Another developing storm system continued to bring heavy rain in addition to mountain snow to the Pacific Northwest this weekend with winter weather and storm warnings in place from Washington to Colorado, according to the meteorological service.
The heaviest snow will fall on parts of the Cascades and northern Rockies on Sunday with totals generally ranging from 2 to 7 inches, but snow accumulation of 15 inches or more is possible for higher elevations and mountain passes . There will also be a lot of wind, with gusts of up to 65 mph possible, which will significantly reduce visibility and make travel dangerous.
Snow from this system will dip south on Monday, impacting Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. Snowfall totals will range from 6 to 12 inches, with higher localized amounts possible in higher elevations, according to the weather service. Wind gusts will also remain high in this region to start the week, with gusts around 30 to 50 mph.
Going forward, this storm system will bring an increased risk of severe weather to the middle and lower Mississippi Valley on Tuesday.
christine rapp contributed.
