Thanksgiving week weather: Expect some rain on Tuesday to clear up for the Wednesday travel day

Adding some dramatic flair to early holiday travel is a storm that will make its way through the Philadelphia region Tuesday afternoon, yielding one to two inches of rain and gusts ranging from 25 to 35 mph.

Still, Matt Brudy, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, said the rain will be long gone by Thanksgiving Day, and it shouldn’t ruin holiday travel plans, either.

“It’s really not going to be very impactful as far as I know,” he said. “It’s just going to be some much-needed rain.”

Brudy said Tuesday’s high is expected to be 49 degrees with a low only a degree below that.

The day’s gusts might be slightly stronger along the New Jersey coast, reaching up to 40 mph, but there aren’t too many concerns for potential flooding in the region. Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, Brudy said, some warm air is slated to push through the region giving Wednesday a high of 57 degrees.

Brudy said the rain should be mostly gone by Wednesday afternoon, and the low is projected to be 35 degrees.

Thanksgiving itself will have temps in the low 50s, so plan accordingly for Turkey Trots or for attending the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.

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Despite the storm’s limited regional impact, it is worth remembering holiday travel for Thanksgivinghas already begun, and experts say it never hurts to be ready for anything.

“Weather here or elsewhere across the country could impact travel,” said Heather Redfern, a spokesperson for Philadelphia International Airport. “We advise anyone traveling [Tuesday] and Wednesday to check with their airlines for the most up-to-date flight information.”

And while those traveling Wednesday might be missing the rain, they won’t be missing traffic. According to AAA, Wednesday is the busiest road day during the holiday week with congestion at its worst between 2 and 6 p.m. in some metro areas.

AAA said some 55.4 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles for the holiday, a 2.3% increase from last year and the third busiest since 2000, the year the organization started tracking holiday travel.

The weather on Thursday is slated to be average compared to past Thanksgiving days in the region, said Brudy. That forecast certainly beats the 3.2 inches of snow recorded in 1898 or the frigid 20 degrees recorded in 2018.