A Sour Thanksgiving Recipe: Record Travel, Possible Storm
Midwest Rain Today, Area Precipitation Sunday Imperil Trips

By Jonathan Mummolo and Kendra Marr
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Thanksgiving travelers should brace for brutal trips in the air, on highways and on the rails, with record numbers of Washingtonians expected to travel this week and a storm threatening the Midwest today, transportation officials said.

Forecasts of rain Sunday along the Northeast corridor could also mean an exasperating trip home.

The treacherous annual trek got off to a mixed start yesterday. Congestion on area highways was about the same as on a normal weekday, but an afternoon accident on Interstate 95 north of Baltimore closed the highway in both directions for hours. Maryland State Police said the backup was cleared by 5:30 p.m. Last night, the Maryland Department of Transportation reported congestion in the northbound lanes at the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.

Low clouds delayed air travelers one to two hours in the New York, Chicago and Philadelphia areas.

Any delays at Washington's airports were less than 15 minutes last night, the Federal Aviation Administration reported. But airline delays could become extreme today, with thunderstorms predicted in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys and rain and wind forecast for Chicago and Detroit. Delays at major airline hubs, such as in Chicago, could cause a ripple effect across the country.

Air and road traffic could also become a mess Sunday and Monday morning, when a weather system currently moving north from the Gulf of Mexico is expected to bring more than an inch of rain throughout the Northeast, said Mark Tew, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The local forecast for today and tomorrow is favorable for drivers, with highs around 70 today between Washington and Baltimore and a cold front on Thanksgiving day that will bring just brief showers, Tew said.

Anticipating the Thanksgiving crush, President Bush freed military airspace for commercial airline use during the holiday season. But industry analysts said the change won't alter the fact that the nation's outdated air traffic control system will continue to trigger most airline delays.

"It's appalling," analyst Michael Boyd said. "Military airspace won't fix anything."

Dulles International and Reagan National airports expect a combined 1.5 million passengers from last Friday to Monday, said Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesman Rob Yingling. Officials at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport said they expect nearly a half-million travelers during the holiday week.

The busiest times at airports will be early mornings and late afternoons. Passengers should arrive at least two hours before flight departure, airport officials said.

In the Washington region, a record 691,200 people -- about 14.4 percent of the population -- will travel 50 miles or more this week, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic figures. That's about 15,000 more than last year.

Cars remain the No. 1 method of Thanksgiving travel, with 83 percent of the region's voyagers using automobiles, said John B. Townsend II, public and government affairs manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

For drivers, rain can mean slower speeds, more accidents and white knuckles on the wheel. "You have to have all your antennae up when you're driving in rain," said Townsend, who said accidents here rise by about 25 percent in the wet.

"People think they can master rain. They think they're Aquaman."

Officials at the Maryland Transportation Authority, which expects nearly 650,000 vehicles to pass through the Fort McHenry Tunnel on I-95 in Baltimore between today and Sunday, recommend using E-ZPass and traveling during off-peak hours today to avoid gridlock.

On a day like today, that means before 7 a.m. or after 10 p.m., Maryland transportation officials said.

Gas prices -- at an average of $3.05 a gallon in the area, compared with $2.18 at this time last year -- appear to be no deterrent. "I think people have made up their mind," Townsend said. "They're going to do the trip anyway."

Sultan Warner, 45, who is planning to drive today from Southeast Washington to New York state to visit relatives, has no delusions about beating the rush.

"I'm going to take my time," said Warner, an information technology technician. "When you're in a rush, that's when the traffic just seems so much worse. I might even make some stop-offs to do some pre-Christmas shopping -- make more out of the trip than just the travel."

Train riders should hurry to buy tickets as trains are beginning to sell out, said Tracy Connell, spokeswoman for Amtrak. The day before Thanksgiving, Amtrak usually has about 70 percent more passengers than on a normal Wednesday, with about half traveling in the corridor between Washington and Boston, she said. Cars and trains have been added to help handle the load.

Carry-on luggage is limited to two bags, not including purses, briefcases or items required for infants, she said, and bags cannot exceed 50 pounds. For those who have not pre-purchased tickets, Connell recommended arriving 45 minutes to an hour early.

Metro is running extra trains and buses to airports, transit officials said. From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, two extra Yellow Line trains will operate every 15 minutes between National and Mount Vernon Square.

For travelers heading to BWI, the B30 express bus, which goes directly between the Greenbelt Metro station on the Green Line and the airport, will operate every 20 minutes instead of the usual 40 minutes all day today and Sunday and from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday.

On Sunday, Metro will also run more 5A buses between L'Enfant Plaza and Dulles International Airport, depending on demand.

Greyhound, which usually runs 65 daily departures out of Washington, will run 100 today and Sunday, spokesman Dustin Clark said. For five extra bucks at the ticket counter, assigned seats and early boarding are available on routes that include Washington to New York.

Yesterday morning, air travelers were giving thanks for a relatively uncrowded scene at Dulles, a condition sure to change by the next day.

"It seems orderly and not chaotic yet," said Patricia Rea of Leesburg, who was flying to San Diego. "We'll see about that tomorrow."

Staff writer Martin Weil contributed to this report.