Thanksgiving travel weather forecast: Big storms to create big trouble from coast to coast

Doyle Rice | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Thanksgiving traffic: When not to drive, airport expectations Here's what you need to know about the worst times to hit the road and what to expect at the airport this Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving travel troubles are likely this week as two storms track across the nation, bringing a miserable mix of rain, snow and wind from coast to coast.

"We've got a very active pattern this week, with the potential for some travel disruptions," National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Oravec said.

The first storm will dump heavy snow, as much as 6-12 inches, across portions of the western and central USA on Tuesday and into Wednesday, Oravec said.

Wind-driven snow will spread from Colorado to Michigan from Tuesday into Tuesday night, AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Walker said. Low visibility and slick roads will create dangerous travel conditions in these areas, according to the Weather Channel.

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Denver could see more than a foot of snow Tuesday, the weather service said, potentially wreaking havoc for road and air travelers.

Blizzard conditions will be possible from far northeastern Colorado through central Nebraska, AccuWeather predicted, because of the strong winds that accompany the storm.

Snow in northeastern Colorado and western Nebraska, will be the heaviest and steadiest Monday night through midday on Tuesday, before the storm shifts eastward into the central Plains: https://t.co/8hBG1Xajfb pic.twitter.com/Li333DdUQQ — AccuWeather (@accuweather) November 25, 2019

The same storm will bring rain and thunderstorms from the Great Lakes states to the Gulf Coast on Tuesday. Roadways will be soaked from Ohio to Louisiana, as opposed to slippery and snow-covered, and drivers should expect disruptions through these states, AccuWeather said.

After the storm moves through the East late Wednesday, howling winds will be the main issue across portions of the Midwest and Northeast into Thanksgiving Day. This could cause problems for the balloons at Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City.

Another strong storm will roar ashore into the West Coast Tuesday and Wednesday, Oravec said. Hurricane-force wind gusts will batter the coasts of Oregon and Northern California.

This storm threatens to bring rain to much of California, including San Francisco and Sacramento, places that were largely spared by last week's rain.

Air- and road-travel delays are possible in San Francisco and Los Angeles, the Weather Channel predicted. Dangerous driving conditions could develop as snow falls from California's Sierra Nevada into the Rockies.

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Heavy mountain snow will be measured in feet in the Sierra, according to AccuWeather.

The storm will bring snow to portions of Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Arizona on Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day.

The storm is expected to move east during the final days of November and cause still more travel disruptions for those in the Plains and East heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday, AccuWeather said.