Thanksgiving Travel Chaos Amid Winter Storms, More Than 200 Flights Canceled

More than 200 commercial flights were canceled by late Tuesday night ahead of the busiest travel day of the year for Americans, as weather forecasters predict that snowstorms and rain are likely to pound the northeast throughout Wednesday and Thursday.

Approximately half the flight cancellations came from just two airports, New York LaGuardia and Newark Liberty, according to USA Today.

On Tuesday, the New York City Office of Emergency Management issued a travel advisory that a “total of 3-5 inches of heavy, wet snow” is forecast to blanket the Big Apple Wednesday, resulting in “dangerous driving conditions throughout the day.”

The National Weather Service also issued numerous winter storm warnings for large swaths of the American northeast stretching from the Appalachia Mountains in North Carolina to the Maine coastline.

The news comes less than a week after the American Automobile Association predicted that more than 46 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more from their homes during the Thanksgiving weekend — the largest number for the holiday in the past seven years.

On a brighter note, drivers hitting the road will enjoy the lowest gasoline prices since December 2010 as global oil prices continue to slide. And that, at least, is something to be thankful for.