Rain: Is it going to rain, and what overpriced gear do you *really* need?
Thanksgiving Travel Nightmare: Mother Nature's Passive-Aggressive Holiday Gift
So, Thanksgiving travel. Supposed to be a time for family, gratitude, and… dodging rogue weather systems? Give me a break. Every year it's the same song and dance. This year, we're getting a delightful cocktail of high winds, lake-effect snow, and good ol' fashioned drenching rain. Who needs cranberry sauce when you've got torrential downpours?
Coast-to-Coast Chaos: The Weather's Revenge
AccuWeather is practically gleeful in their report, detailing how "millions of people across the United States" will experience travel disruptions. Thanks, guys. Really painting a rosy picture there. High winds in the Midwest, downpours in the East Coast, and heavy rain in the Northwest. It's like Mother Nature is playing a game of weather-based bingo, and we're all losing.
And the winds? "Wind gusts over 40 mph could cause airline delays in cities including Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland," they warn. No kidding. Forty mph winds will do more than just delay your flight; they'll probably spill your overpriced airport coffee all over your already-stressed-out self. Is that really how we want to start the holidays? Offcourse not.
The Great Lakes are getting in on the action, too, with lake-effect snow threatening to turn interstates into icy parking lots. I-75, I-79, I-80… basically, if you're driving anywhere near a Great Lake, you're screwed. Thanksgiving US travel: High winds, expanding lake-effect snow and spotty rain to disrupt millions.
NYC Parade: Wind vs. Balloons
Oh, and let's not forget the Thanksgiving Day parade in NYC. No rain or snow, thankfully, but "gusty winds may pose some challenges." Translation: those giant balloons might end up doing an impromptu street performance, possibly taking out a few unsuspecting spectators in the process.
"People waiting on location for the parade for many hours are encouraged to bundle up, as AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will be mainly in the 30s, occasionally dipping into the 20s." RealFeel® Temperatures? Seriously? Can we just call it "freezing"? I mean, come on.
A Glimmer of Hope? Nah.
Okay, fine, maybe there's a tiny sliver of optimism. The East Coast should see improving conditions Wednesday night. But that's about it. The Northwest gets heavy rain, Florida gets spotty thunderstorms, and the rest of the country gets to play weather roulette.
And, of course, this is all happening while everyone's maxing out their credit cards, fighting with their relatives, and trying to remember why they even bother with Thanksgiving in the first place. It's a beautiful holiday, really.
Then again, maybe I'm just being a grumpy old cynic. Nah.