A nor'easter bringing up to 9 inches of snow to the Capital Region by Thanksgiving could not only be challenging for holiday travelers on what's expected to be the busiest travel day in years; it potentially could prevent thousands from getting their turkey dinner.

A low-pressure system coming up from the Carolinas is expected to move up the Eastern Seaboard and meet with another system moving in from the Great Lakes, creating a winter storm watch for the Capital Region and the mid-Hudson Valley, said Ian Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany. "Snow could overspread the region," Lee said.

The snow is expected to start Wednesday morning and could drop up to 9 inches before it stops Thanksgiving morning.

The storm could sabotage Equinox's annual Thanksgiving Day Community Dinner plans to deliver 9,500 meals to people in need on Thursday.

"A couple of volunteer drivers already called and canceled," said Christina Rajotte, Equinox's director of development and community relations.

"We usually make sure we have plenty of drivers. We'll have to monitor this carefully," Rajotte said. "We don't want to put anyone's life in jeopardy... If worse comes to worse, we can definitely store the meals till the next day."

Though the snowy blast might have been difficult to picture on Monday, which saw temperatures in the 70s, the unseasonable warmth will end quickly. Temperatures are forecast to fall to the upper 40s Tuesday and into the low- to mid-30s Wednesday and Thursday. Nighttime temperatures are expected to be in the upper 20s, Lee said.

Most of the snow is expected to fall within the first 12 hours of the storm, he said, adding that Monday was too early Monday to pinpoint exact totals.

The storm will be heaviest Wednesday, the day when the most travelers are expected to hit the road.

From Wednesday to Sunday, 46.3 million people are expected to travel nationwide. That would be the first time it's been over 46 million since 2007, according to the AAA 2014 Thanksgiving Travel Forecast.

"It's the biggest travel holiday of the year," said AAA Hudson Valley's Nancy McMahon.

McMahon suggested that those driving should wait out the storm if possible, and that those flying should sign up for text and email alerts and check in with the airline 24 hours in advance.

On Wednesday alone, 4,200 passengers are expected to come through Albany International Airport, said Director of Public Affairs Doug Myers. "Our airlines are operating at or near capacity right now," he said.

Airport officials and snow removal teams will meet Tuesday and throughout the storm to come up with an operation plan, though even their best-laid plans might be thwarted by delays from major hubs down the coast.

"Historically, if it comes up the East Coast, once hubs start to get impacted the entire system across the board is impacted," Myers said. "Usually in a case like this, if we get planes in we get them out."

The airport is advising all travelers to get to the airport at least 90 minutes before their flight.

"If you miss a flight on a week like this when the next day's flights are full, your chances of finding vacant seats are slim to none," Myers said.

For the Capital District Transportation Authority, bus travel won't be quite as busy because most college students will already have gone home before the storm, said spokeswoman Jaime Watson.

More Information Travel by the numbers The Thanksgiving holiday, from Wednesday to Sunday, is the busiest in terms of travel. 46.3 million people will travel in the U.S.. 41.3 million will travel by automobile. 3.55 percent will travel by air. Source: AAA 2014 Thanksgiving Travel Forecast/ AAA Hudson Valley See More Collapse

On average, 133 people, roughly twice as many as usual, will get off the bus at the Rensselaer Rail Station the day before Thanksgiving, she said. But for those still using the bus systems to get around locally, there's not much the authority can do about the roads.

"We would ask our customers if they could pack a little patience and realize we're out operating in the snow as well," Watson said. There may be service delays or reroutes due to the snow. Travelers are advised to use CDTA's real-time online tracking to get more accurate arrival times.

Municipalities and transportation authorities around the area spent Monday trying to get in front of the storm.

The state Thruway Authority had shifted its resources from across the state to help the snow-battered Buffalo region, said spokeswoman Christina Klepper. But she added that "those resources are en route to their home locations, and we are prepared across our system for any coming winter weather."

The 14 crew members and equipment from the state Office of General Services also made their way back to Albany Monday after helping with snow removal and flood preparation efforts in Erie County last week. Equipment included seven front loaders and seven pickup trucks with plows, said spokesman Joe Brill. "They make up a significant part of our snow removal crew," he said.

All equipment is being repaired and readied for Wednesday.

For Joe Sutherland, a partner at American Design and Contracting LLC in Albany, having the first big storm of the year fall on a holiday is actually a good thing. "The morning is pretty good for people you have working for you," he said.

It's also good because on Thanksgiving their customers are less likely to need to be out and about before 5 a.m., which gives them more time to get the job done and to work out any kinks in their equipment, Sutherland said.

The company will spend the days leading up to the storm fixing and rechecking their equipment to make sure it's ready to plow out the about 50 commercial sites they work on including many businesses along Wolf Road and Stuyvesant Plaza. "The way we prepare is panic," Sutherland said, laughing. "When you're running 30 to 40 pieces of equipment, things are bound to happen even if you feel you're 100 percent."

kclukey@timesunion.com • 518-454-5467 • @KClukey_TU