Lehigh Valley weather: Here’s when rain (or snow) may disrupt Thanksgiving travel plans

The first soaking rain in weeks will arrive in the Lehigh Valley, perhaps even with a bit of snow in spots, just in time for Thanksgiving travel this week.

AAA expects 55.4 million people nationwide will travel for the holiday. For those passing through eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the inclement weather should move through before the heaviest holiday traffic on Wednesday afternoon. But it’s possible drives or flights on Tuesday afternoon and overnight into Wednesday morning could be disrupted.

The National Weather Service generally expects an inch or two of widespread rain with up to 3 inches in parts of eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and eastern Maryland starting Tuesday afternoon.

Our first good soaking rain in weeks is forecasted to arrive Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning. While the rain...

Posted by US National Weather Service Philadelphia/Mount Holly on Monday, November 20, 2023

Though the timing is not ideal, the rain will be beneficial. The Lehigh Valley has not recorded even a tenth of an inch of rain all month and is now more than 7 inches below average on the year, according to weather service records. A drought watch issued in June remains in effect for 15 Pennsylvania counties .

Some light snow also is possible at the start on Tuesday in the higher northern elevations like the Poconos. EPAWA Weather Consulting meteorologist Bobby Martrich said in his daily forecast video that he expects a coating to an inch, tops, on unpaved surfaces before any snow transitions to sleet and rain.

Read more: When does the Lehigh Valley usually get its first snow?

Whatever the precipitation, travelers can anticipate blustery conditions. Wind gusts should pick up on Tuesday and top out between 20 and 30 mph by evening and continue even after the rain has gone.

AccuWeather says the combo will make for “miserable travel” on I-80, I-81 and I-95 through the Mid-Atlantic, with wider impacts through the Northeast and New England.

A pre-Thanksgiving storm system bringing heavy rain and wind could cause travel chaos along the East Coast, according to Accuweather.(Accuweather)

“Motorists should expect some roads to become slippery, especially over the highest elevations in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, but farther to the north from northern New York to northern New England, more general wintry driving is likely with accumulating snow,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said in the State College-based forecaster’s outlook.

Conditions will be more favorable on Monday, before the storm, and on Wednesday afternoon after it passes. However, the day before Thanksgiving between 2 and 6 p.m. is the most likely time to hit traffic, AAA says.

Thanksgiving itself should be cool but dry for the 116th Easton-Phillipsburg high school football game .

Forecasters are watching another potential late-week rainstorm that could impact the return home for Thanksgiving travelers on Friday night and Saturday.

Current weather radar