If you were expecting your relatives to arrive this morning on the Red-Eye, you may have been disappointed to hear that just like your relatives, you'll likely be stuck at the airport most of this Turkey Day. As it happens, winter has set in this Thanksgiving, and while it's a bit early for snow and storms of this magnitude, America has seen hundreds of delays today when airports are at their peaks.
In fact AAA reports that this 2014 holiday season will have the highest Thanksgiving travel volume of the decade, with more than 46 million Americans expected to be on the roads or in the air-coming home for the holiday.
As a Nor'easter encroached early this Wednesday morning along the New England coast, residents saw the onset of record-breaking rainstorms expected to remain heavy in its rainfall through Thanksgiving day. And as morning turns to afternoon, and the turkeys approach golden perfection, travelers along the East Coast in areas like Pennsylvania, New York, Maine and New England will be disappointed to hear that rain will quickly turn to snow.
But it's not just the East coast that'll see delays in reaching their delicious dinners. Those in the Pacific Northwest will experience occasional pounding rain throughout the day, and it's definitely causing concern for airlines as well.
"It is a perfect storm, but it all comes together with the training that we have" Delta Airlines tower agent, Jack Castro says. "That is where it is a test of our mettle."
While it's expected that the storms will pass through this Thursday leaving return trips without major problems, the travel outlook for today looks quite bleak as nearly 2,500 flights were delayed and another 555 were canceled. And as the storm bears down, these figures are expected to continue to rise throughout the course of the holiday.
And though some will be disappointed that they'll be spending this Thanksgiving apart from their families, stuck in airport food courts for their turkey dinners, others are simply thankful that they're safe and won't find themselves caught out in the snow.
"I don't want to risk it" New York City public relations executive heading home to Uxbridge, Massachusetts, Jenna Bouffard says. "I'd rather be safe than sorry."
