Northeast hit with rain, snow amid Thanksgiving Day festivities

The U.S. Northeast has been hit with a winter storm that has brought rain and snow amid Thanksgiving Day festivities and disrupted travel plans for those moving around on the holiday. 

A “dynamic mid-latitude cyclone” is spreading scattered showers and thunderstorms onto the East Coast on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Moderate to heavy snow is likely to blanket parts of the interior Northeast while warnings and winter storm watches are in effect in parts of central New England, according to NWS. 

The Upper Great Lakes may get anywhere from four to eight inches of rain on Thursday. 

“In the wake of this front, as temperatures cool further, lake effect snows should expand and intensify as they interact with record warm Great Lakes temperatures for late November,” NWS said while projecting that Florida will be mild to warm over the holiday. 

This year, over 80 million Americans are expected to travel for Thanksgiving, according to AAA. Nearly 72 million will be driving a car to their destinations to celebrate the holiday. 

With the winter storm hovering over the Northeast, winter storm advisories are issues in parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Rain has hit cities more south like Baltimore and Washington. 

Despite the rain in New York City, marchers kicked off the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Thursday morning with a bevy of marching bands, clowns and performances from various artists. 

The parade saw 22 floats, 15 inflatables, 17 character balloons, 11 marching bands, 700 clowns, singers, performance groups and WNBA champion New York Liberty, The Associated Press (AP) reported.