Nor'easter Imperils Holiday Travel

Airlines are facing thousands of canceled flights for tomorrow and Wednesday as a developing nor'easter is forecast to bring high winds, rain, and snow to much of the east coast. American Airlines and its affiliates alone have already canceled over 950 flights, mostly out of the Dallas/Fort Worth hub. The National Weather Service has issued an advisory:

The bad weather is expected to advance towards the northeast and affect the Mid-Atlantic and into New England starting on Tuesday. Given the recent very cold weather, the onset of the precipitation may be in the form of light snow or a wintry mix east of the mountains. An influx of warmer air will result in a complete changeover to rain as the surface low approaches. Widespread moderate to heavy rain is likely from Tuesday night into Wednesday, and this will likely cause travel issues for Thanksgiving travelers. A longer period of wintry weather is expected over the Appalachians with several inches of snow and sleet possible.

More about the travel situation:

Low clouds and high winds will force many hub airports to reduce takeoff and landing frequency during the storm’s peak on the day before Thanksgiving, so expect delayed and cancelled flights. And heavy rains will mean slow going on already congested highways along the east coast. The silver lining? This storm will be a relatively quick mover, spending less than a day over any particular location. That means timing could be everything when making plans and anticipating the storm’s next move. And come Thanksgiving morning, the storm will effectively be gone, leaving bone-chilling air in its wake but relatively great travel conditions for those stuck in the rebooking line.

Here in New York City, officials for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade say that high winds may ground some of the larger balloons, although the skies should be clear by parade time.