Winter Storm May Snarl Thanksgiving Travel

A nor'easter is expected to develop along the East Coast as millions of travelers head out for the Thanksgiving holiday. The storm will mostly bring rain to coastal areas, while heavier snow will fall inland with the potential of up to 5 inches in New York City. But meteorologists warn that conditions could change.

"A small deviation in the track could change things dramatically," said Jeff Masters, chief meteorologist for Weather Underground. The storm could cause delays along busy Northeast highways and at the region's airports.

Precipitation was forecast to sweep in from the south Tuesday night into Wednesday morning and exit the region on Thursday morning. As of Monday, the highest amount of snow was expected to fall in northeastern Pennsylvania, the Catskills of upstate New York and into Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Up to 10 inches was possible in some places, forecasters said.

"I would pack your patience," said Robert Sinclair of AAA New York. "Unfortunately, the storm is scheduled to hit right in the middle of getaway day."

Officials at the three major airports in the New York City area - Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty - were "monitoring weather forecasts carefully," and were ready to take action if needed, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airports.

All the major U.S. airlines were closely monitoring the situation but have not yet canceled flights or made any other changes.

Sinclair noted that an estimated 41.3 million travelers were expected to hit the nation's highways for the holiday weekend. That's a 4.3 percent increase over last year.