Great weather ahead for busiest travel week of year

Believe it or not, it's already that time of year -- the busiest week for travel. The big Thanksgiving holiday is less than a week away, and that means millions of Americans will be traveling by air, rail and car. The question that everyone wants to know this time of year is: "What will the weather be like?" In short, the week of Thanksgiving is looking very, very good across the country overall. 

This weekend kicks off the official travel season, which lasts from November 16th to November 27th according to Forbes. And, if you plan on heading out -- whether it be locally or regionally -- the weather doesn't look too bad. Saturday will actually be the "worst" day to travel across parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes as a wintry system will spread light snow, rain or a mix into areas from Iowa to Indiana and Michigan. Locations that will be most affected by this system include southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, parts of Wisconsin, and northern Michigan (including the Upper Peninsula). Outside of those areas, Saturday won't be too bad.

Conditions look decent on Sunday across the Midwest and Great Lakes, and things only improve into next week. The outlook features plenty of dry weather for both Monday and Tuesday from coast to coast. The only exceptions, really, are the Pacific Northwest and Southeast Texas near Houston and Corpus Christi. Otherwise, the first two days of Thanksgiving week look phenomenal with plenty of dry, sunny weather. The dry weather doesn't end Tuesday, though. It continues for Wednesday, Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

Notice the total amount of precipitation expected thru Black Friday on this map. Most numbers on here are very minimal. The only exceptions, as mentioned above, are the West Coast and the Texas coast. Outside of those two zones, the weather shouldn't play any significant role in your travel plans Monday thru Thanksgiving Day. When we look past Thanksgiving, the weather pattern could become a little more active in the central and eastern portions of the country. A winter storm is not in the cards, but the Friday, Saturday and Sunday immediately following Thanksgiving will likely feature at least a chance of rain or a rain/snow mix from the Plains to the Midwest and East Coast. At this time, nothing looks overly concerning during that window. 

And, to add another bit of optimism to the forecast, high temperatures are projected to moderate through Thanksgiving Week. By Turkey Day itself, highs will be in the "mild" category across the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. Expect sunshine and temperatures soaring well into the 40s and 50s!