How Thanksgiving storm could impact Florida holiday travel
- A large, cross-country storm is threatening to disrupt Thanksgiving travel plans for nearly 82 million people next week.
- Most of Florida will avoid direct impacts when it reaches the state on Wednesday.
- Panhandle and North Florida residents may have to contend with Thanksgiving Day showers and storms.
A massive Thanksgiving storm is threatening to disrupt holiday travel for almost 82 million people next week.
Floridians traveling within the state won’t notice the inclement weather but anyone traveling out of the Sunshine State could face delays depending on which day they’re traveling.
The cross-country storm will start to move across the United States starting in the Southwest over the weekend, according to AccuWeather.
The worst part of the storm will be centered from Austin, Texas, to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Little Rock, Arkansas, on Monday, Nov. 24. The storm will impact the majority of the Central U.S., however.
The Florida Panhandle will be just on the edge of the storm on Tuesday and see direct but moderate impacts by Wednesday. The Thanksgiving Day forecast for the Panhandle will be warm with a 55% chance of showers, according to AccuWeather.
How will Florida be impacted by Thanksgiving storm
The storm will roll out of the Texas and southern Plains region on Tuesday and spread heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms over the Mississippi Valley, according to AccuWeather.
“The best chance of severe weather will be in the South Central states,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
The Florida Peninsula will dodge direct impacts from the storm, but Panhandle and North Florida residents traveling on Wednesday, typically the busiest day for Thanksgiving travel, won’t be as lucky.
“Expect another a few quick hitting systems on the heels of one another Tuesday into Wednesday (potentially into early Thursday),” the National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama, wrote in its latest forecast discussion.
“Regardless, the worst case scenario is that the lingering rain showers clear out of the area through the morning on Thanksgiving. Given the strong pressure gradient, it could be windy on Thanksgiving,” the NWS concluded.
Thanksgiving Day weather forecast for the Florida Panhandle
Florida is expected to see warmer weather than it’s used to on Thanksgiving Day, with forecasted high temperatures in the Panhandle in the low 70s.
Monday, Nov. 24
- High: 74℉
- Low: 65℉
- Chance of rain: 19%
Tuesday, Nov. 25
- High: 76℉
- Low: 66℉
- Chance of rain: 25%
Wednesday, Nov. 26
- High: 74℉
- Low: 50℉
- Chance of rain: 55%
Thursday, Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving Day)
- High: 72℉
- Low: 56℉
- Chance of rain: 55%