Thanksgiving travelers set to face winter storms, strong winds and heavy snow

Cold, wintry weather and strong winds are expected in large parts of the country Wednesday as millions hit the roads and take to the skies ahead of Thanksgiving.

Up to 2 feet of snow is set to to hit the Upper Midwest and 52 million people are under wind alerts from the Plains to the Great Lakes and into the Appalachians, including in major cities such as Chicago and Detroit. For the areas under these alerts, gusts are forecast to be as high as 60 mph.

Blizzard warnings are in place for parts of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and areas east of lakes Erie and Ontario are under lake-effect snow warnings.

A major lake-effect snowstorm is expected through Saturday, in which snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour, combined with wind gusts stronger than 30 mph, will lead to nearly impossible travel conditions.

For northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan, up to 3 feet of snow is possible. For the areas downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario, 20 inches of snow is possible.

Wet and snowy weather will also take over the Pacific Northwest — including Seattle and Portland — and showers and storms are plaguing cities along the Interstate 95 corridor Wednesday.

A windy day could impact the famed Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York City. Balloons may be flying lower because of wind gusts up to 35 mph.

Bad weather is already causing disruptions as millions hit the road in what is supposed to be a record-setting travel day this Thanksgiving eve.

Semitrucks rolled off roads blocking traffic in Minnesota. In North Dakota, a car was seen sliding off an icy and snowy road.

About 73 million people are expected to travel by car to their Thanksgiving destinations — approximately 1 million more than this time last year. That number could be even higher than the current prediction if people were deterred from traveling by plane because of flight disruptions stemming from the government shutdown.

Traffic was already at a standstill approaching the George Washington Bridge heading into New York City early Wednesday.

If drivers want to hit that lower traffic sweet spot, they should drive before 11 a.m. or after 8 p.m. Wednesday, avoiding the middle of the day. The same goes for Sunday, when everyone is set to travel back home after the holiday.

Weather is affecting air travel, as well, as flight delays are already climbing. According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, more than 630 flights within the United States were already delayed as of early Wednesday.

And Tuesday, flights slowed to a crawl in Atlanta and an air traffic control tower was evacuated for 10 minutes as fears of a nearby tornado grew.

American Airlines said it spends months preparing for Thanksgiving travel, and nearly all airlines have predicted that Wednesday will be their busiest travel day of the year. American will fly 81,000 flights over the Thanksgiving weekend — more than last year.

But volatile weather is threatening all of that hard work.

Mark Ewing, American’s customer service director, told NBC News the airline has a “playbook that walks us through every step of the way.”

“Weather’s coming. Execute the plan. Get customers back on track,” he said.

Travelers told NBC News they are being patient and “hoping for the best.”

Thankfully, Thursday’s forecast is expected to clear across most of the country, save for showers in the Northwest and lake-effect snow in the Great Lakes region.