Nebraskans traveling for Thanksgiving will get decent weather and lower fuel prices

More than 55 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles this week for Thanksgiving, according to AAA, an increase of about 2.3% from last year.

If you are one of them, you are likely to enjoy the good weather and lower expenses.

The weather forecast for the Lincoln area is a mixed bag in terms of temperatures. On Wednesday, the traditional day most people travel, the forecast calls for clear skies and highs in the upper 50s. Highs will drop into the 40s on Thanksgiving and into the 30s on Friday and Saturday.

That means people going to the Iowa-Nebraska football game will need to pack their bags, but the good news is that the Lincoln area should miss the snow expected in the western and central parts of the state.

Whether you’re flying or driving, you should experience relatively good weather nationwide on Wednesday.

Accuweather expects good weather conditions for travel almost coast to coast on Wednesday. There will be a few pockets of the country with mild weather, mostly in the Pacific Northwest and East Coast, but the only place where travel weather is expected to be bad on Wednesday is northern New England.

However, travelers must arrive at the airport earlier than usual to account for delays. Eppley Airfield said in a news release Monday that fliers should arrive two hours before their scheduled flights.

Epley also said it expects more than 180,000 passengers to arrive this week, nearly 5% more than last year.

Nationally, about 4.7 million people are expected to travel by plane this year. This represents a 6.6% increase from 2022 and would break the record set in 2005, according to AAA.

The average Thanksgiving ticket price of $268 is not only 14% cheaper than it was last year, according to travel booking site Hopper, it’s 7% cheaper than it was at the same time in 2019. Car rental fees are also Cheaper, down about 17%, according to Hopper.

People driving to their destination will benefit greatly from lower gas prices. As of Monday, the national price for unleaded gas was $3.31 a gallon, 25 cents less than it was a month ago and 37 cents less than it was this time last year.

Prices are even lower in Nebraska, where the price was averaging just under $3.11 a gallon as of Monday, down 38 cents from last month and 35 cents from a year ago.

Hundreds of stations across the state, including a few in Lincoln, had gas for less than $3 a gallon as of Monday, according to GasBuddy.com.

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Airports with the worst security lines during the holidays

Image source: Pressmaster / Shutterstock

In a testament to the resilience of the US aviation industry, air travel has not only rebounded from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, but has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2019. As eager travelers prepare to visit family and friends this holiday season, airports are bracing for a surge in activity never seen before. years ago.

Commercial airlines are often busiest during the Thanksgiving and winter holidays, and as demand for air travel increases, longer security waits may pose a significant challenge to passengers. Knowing what to expect at TSA checkpoints will help travelers coordinate transportation, minimize disruptions, and even avoid missed flights.

Press manager