Boston will avoid much of the winter storm that has hammered the western U.S. and Midwest this week but rain and wind will slow travel for Thanksgiving travelers.
According to Accuweather, rain will hit Boston on Tuesday night until much of Wednesday. The rain could turn into snow on Wednesday night.
Around 1 to 2 inches will fall and flash flooding could result.
“But here’s the twist: Don’t expect a white Thanksgiving in New York, Boston, or other big cities. Along the coast, the tempest will manifest itself more like a tropical storm than a snowy nor’easter. That means a deluge of heavy rain and sustained high winds—terrible travel conditions, by any definition,” writes Quartz meteorologist Eric Holthaus.
AAA estimates that around 43.4 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles for Thanksgiving this week. Kevin Roth, the lead meteorologist with The Weather Channel, told NBC that flights could be delayed New York, Boston, Washington and Baltimore due to strong wings.
In other parts of the Northeast, bad weather is expected to hit on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Virtually the entire US will be affected by this storm: whether directly by rain, wind, snow, or ice, or indirectly via cascading travel delays. The storm’s incredibly poor timing will enhance the impacts of an otherwise only slightly worse than average early winter atmospheric medley. The AAA predicts 43.4 million Americans will venture farther than 50 miles over the coming holiday weekend, the vast majority of them by car,” writes Holthaus.
Tom Kines, with AccuWeather, told The Associated Press said the storm will be “primarily a rain event” on the East Coast--with up to three inches of rain dousing travelers in some areas.
“The further inland you get — especially as you get into that higher terrain — you are going to deal with frozen precipitation,” Kines told AP. Snow might fall in western Pennsylvania and the interior of New England, he added.
