Cold, Wet Weather May Damper Thanksgiving Travel Plans
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- If you're planning to head out of town for Thanksgiving, you may want to leave yourself some extra time. The mix of rain and snow could make traveling more difficult this holiday.
AAA says more than 48 million Americans are expected to travel for Thanksgiving between Wednesday and Sunday. Nearly 90 percent of them drive.
The snow won't be as bad as what much of the state saw Friday, but it will make for a headache on the roads.
Mark Sullivan says he can handle a little snow for Thanksgiving travel, but it's what he can't see on the road that'smore challenging.
"As long as the ice isn't on the bottom," he said.
A large part of the state will still see a mix of freezing rain, snow, and sleet overnight into Wednesday
"I've noticed that the snow -- especially up north and northwest of the Metro -- there will be some heavier snow, three to five inches," Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) communications director Kevin Gutknecht said.
MnDOT has 1,500 plow drivers all over the state on standby, ready to lay down salt and start the clean up once snow starts to accumulate.
"Right now we're just waiting for it to come in," Gutknecht said. "We do have people on the roads doing a patrol, checking to see if there is ice on the roads, things like that."
Gutknecht says traveling in the northern part of the state may be more challenging, as cleanup from Friday's storm isn't over.
"One of the good things about this is, right after a snowstorm there is some residual salt on the roadway, so that will help with the compaction," he said.
But no matter where you're headed, the best advice is to plan ahead.
"If you're going to go over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving, and it takes you two hours, maybe you should plan for three or four," Gutknecht said. "That way you spend more time with Grandma if you get there early."
Gutknecht offered some other tips for holiday drivers this week:
- Have a safety kit in your car
- Check your tire pressure before heading out
- Make sure your headlights are working properly
- Top off that windshield wiper fluid
- Keep an ice scraper in your car
- Take it slow on the road
Air Travel At MSP
Not everyone drives to their destination for thanksgiving. AAA estimates close to 4 million Americans will fly, and clean up at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has its own operation.
"Really we're our own city," MSP field maintenance manager Lee Sprangrud said.
While MnDOT handles clean up on Minnesota roads, the runways are the responsibility of the Metroplitan Aiports Commission.
"We take care of all the roads in, roads out, of the airport, all the parking decks and everywhere the planes go," Spangrud said.
That includes on the tarmac, where crews will work in shifts over 12 hours to ensure the runways are clear.
"We call everybody in for anything over two inches, and then we're here for the duration of the storm," Spangrud said.
Parts of the Twin Cities could see up to three to five inches of snow. A plane lands or takes off every 20 seconds on a busy day, so that means crews will be busy this Thanksgiving. Field maintenance crews have coordinated sanding, de-icing, and plowing at the airport.
"We're looking at talking with tower, with TRACON, with center, and coordinating with the airlines on how many airplanes they have coming in and out, and we look 3 hours ahead of time," Spangrud said.
Once the snow is collected, it goes into one of fifteen snow melters. They melt 120 tons of snow an hour.
Spangrud, who's worked at MSP for more than 30 years, says he expects this wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow not to be a problem for travelers flying out.
"This is one of the smaller storms, so we're not really too worried about it," he said.
MSP has special surface sensors so crews know the ground temperature. Spangrud says the only way there could be delays is if the storm ends up causing more icy runways than snow.
