Weather forecasters say two storm systems, including a potential coastal storm this weekend, could disrupt travel plans for people in the eastern U.S. who are looking to get an early jump on Thanksgiving trips.
Don’t change any travel plans just yet, because forecasts this far out could easily fizzle out. But as of Tuesday, forecasters from AccuWeather, the National Weather Service and NY NJ PA Weather are all indicating there’s a possibility of a coastal storm developing late Friday or Saturday.
Steven DiMartino, head of the NY NJ PA Weather forecasting company, based in Monmouth County, says a cold front from the west could merge with a storm system that appears to be brewing in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Gulf system could transition into a coastal storm off the Mid-Atlantic coast by Saturday, bringing a threat of moderate rain to the Jersey Shore and scattered rain showers to interior sections of New Jersey on Saturday, DiMartino said.
Weather forecasters say two storm systems, including a potential coastal storm, could disrupt travel plans for people traveling ahead of Thanksgiving 2023. Before then, however, New Jersey and other eastern states will experience a nice warmup with dry conditions later this week.AccuWeather
After that, a blast of cold air is likely to drop down from northern Canada and into the New Jersey region on Monday, followed by a potential rain storm that could affect travel on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving — which typically is one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Forecasters from AccuWeather say they also are tracking a potential coastal storm this weekend and another storm system next week.
“As Thanksgiving week gets underway, a large storm could gather over the central and eastern U.S., which may cause a ripple effect of travel disruptions leading up to the holiday,” AccuWeather said in an early forecast report on its website. “A storm will develop along a slow-moving cold front and will produce moderate to heavy rain from the Ohio and Tennessee valleys to the East Coast Tuesday.”
AccuWeather believes the storm “will advance eastward into Wednesday, creating an uptick in weather-related delays across more than a dozen states next week.”
Among the cities that could face weather-related airport delays next week are “Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and Detroit,” AccuWeather said.
The National Weather Service’s regional forecast office in Mount Holly said rain and wind impacts from the potential weekend coastal storm are not a lock for New Jersey at this time, because the bulk of the storm may end up over New England.
For now, the weather service is predicting a 50% chance of rain for the Garden State Friday night and a 30% chance on Saturday.
Weather forecasters say two storm systems, including a potential coastal storm, could disrupt travel plans for people traveling ahead of Thanksgiving 2023. Before then, however, New Jersey and other eastern states will experience a nice warmup with dry conditions later this week.AccuWeather
In the meantime, New Jersey can enjoy a gradual warming trend this week, with cold mornings but afternoon highs climbing into the mid-50s on Wednesday and the low 60s Thursday and Friday.
Mostly sunny skies are expected Wednesday and Thursday, followed by increasing clouds on Friday.
Current weather radar
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com or @LensReality.
