An impactful storm system is poised to disrupt Thanksgiving travel plans and holiday festivities across multiple regions of the United States, bringing with it the coldest air of the season so far.
This year's holiday is expected to see record-breaking travel numbers, with 79.9 million Americans expected to take to the roads and skies throughout the week, according to AAA. But the developing weather system could bring strong wind, heavy rain and accumulating snow to parts of the country.
The storm threatens to impact major Thanksgiving Day parades, notably in New York and Philadelphia. Interior portions of the Northeast also face the possibility of snow accumulation.
"Thanksgiving Day will be wet across much of the East, with snow likely for interior portions of the Northeast and New England and strong thunderstorms possible in the Southeast," said the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. "A swath of moderate to heavy snowfall is likely to develop across portions of the interior Northeast -- winter storm watches are in effect for portions of central New England related to the heavy snow threat."
The eventual impact depends heavily on which storm scenario materializes, but travelers returning home after the holiday should stay alert for possible flight delays or cancellations.
Not only is snowfall expected to set in late Friday into Saturday across portions of the Central U.S., which may impact travel, but temperatures are expected to plummet as well -- with every state feeling the chill.
"Increasingly below average temperatures spill out into the Great Plains
and Mississippi Valley through the end of the week," the Weather Prediction Center said. "An Arctic cold outbreak across parts of the Central to Southern U.S. and heavy lake effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes will likely impact post-Thanksgiving travel plans through the weekend."
The arctic blast is expected to lower temperatures in every state.
According to Weather Track US, a weather group run by student weather enthusiasts, temperatures will drop by as much as 25 degrees below average in some areas, while the cold air will leave most states at least 10 degrees below average. Wind chill values could make the apparent temperatures feel even colder.
While forecasters don't expect this cold snap to bring record-breaking temperatures, reports indicate more than two dozen states could experience single-digit or below-zero temperatures.
"Temperatures are likely to be the coldest since mid-late February in the northern Plains and Midwest, providing an abrupt change from the record, or near-record, warm autumn so far," the Weather Prediction Center said.