Thanksgiving 2026 travel weather: the roads to watch
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. The stretches to watch that week are the western mountain passes (Donner, the Grapevine, I-70 in Colorado, Snoqualmie and Stevens, I-80 in Wyoming) and the lake-effect snow belts in New York and Pennsylvania on I-90, I-81 and I-80. Check the hourly forecast for when you'll actually be on each stretch, not just for today.
Plan by the hour you'll be there
A forecast for your departure city tells you little about the pass you reach four hours later. WeatherWeGo? routes your drive, checks the hourly forecast at each checkpoint for the time you'll pass it, and adds active National Weather Service alerts and state DOT road data.
Check the weather for your driveWest: mountain passes
I-80 over Donner Pass
I-80 crosses the Sierra Nevada at Donner Summit, 7,240 feet, between Sacramento and Reno. Sierra storms can drop several feet of snow in a day, and Caltrans chain controls (R-1, R-2, R-3) are the norm from November through April.
Live I-80 conditions, Sacramento, CA to Reno, NV →I-5 over the Grapevine (Tejon Pass)
I-5 between Santa Clarita and Bakersfield crosses Tejon Pass at 4,144 feet, then drops down the Grapevine, a 6% grade for 5 miles, into the San Joaquin Valley. Caltrans says snow and ice close it fully an average of 3 to 5 times between October and April, cutting the main road between Southern and Northern California.
Live I-5 conditions, Santa Clarita, CA to Bakersfield, CA →I-70 through the Colorado mountains
I-70 west of Denver climbs to the Eisenhower–Johnson Tunnels at 11,158 feet, drops to Silverthorne, and climbs again over Vail Pass at 10,662 feet before descending Glenwood Canyon. Colorado's traction and chain laws apply on this stretch every winter.
Live I-70 conditions, Denver, CO to Grand Junction, CO →I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass
Snoqualmie Pass at 3,022 feet is low by western standards but sits exactly where Pacific moisture meets Cascade cold, so it gets 400+ inches of snow a year. WSDOT closes it several times a winter for avalanche control and spinouts.
Live I-90 conditions, Seattle, WA to Ellensburg, WA →US-2 over Stevens Pass
US-2 climbs the Skykomish valley from Monroe to Stevens Pass at 4,061 feet, then descends through Tumwater Canyon to Leavenworth. It is the main alternative to I-90 across the Washington Cascades and sits about 1,000 feet higher than Snoqualmie Pass, with avalanche control all winter.
Live US-2 conditions, Monroe, WA to Leavenworth, WA →I-80 across Wyoming
The 400 miles of I-80 between Cheyenne and Evanston run at 6,000 to 8,600 feet across open high plains. Wind, blowing snow, and black ice close it more often than any other interstate in the country, usually between Laramie and Rawlins or at Elk Mountain.
Live I-80 conditions, Cheyenne, WY to Evanston, WY →I-5 over Siskiyou Pass
Siskiyou Summit (4,310 ft) at the California–Oregon line is the highest point on I-5 and the one place on the West Coast's main interstate where chains are regularly required. Storms also close I-5 south of the summit on the grades near Mount Shasta and Dunsmuir.
Live I-5 conditions, Redding, CA to Medford, OR →Northeast and Great Lakes
I-90 (Thruway) from Buffalo to Albany
The 290-mile Thruway from Buffalo to Albany starts in the Lake Erie snow belt, crosses the Lake Ontario belt near Rochester and Syracuse, and climbs into the Mohawk Valley. Lake-effect snow bands can drop feet of snow on a 20-mile stretch while the rest is clear.
Live I-90 conditions, Buffalo, NY to Albany, NY →I-81 from Harrisburg to Syracuse
I-81 through northeastern Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier crosses the Poconos and Endless Mountains, then enters New York's lake-effect belt at Cortland and Syracuse. Snow squalls, the short violent bursts that cause pileups, are the signature hazard.
Live I-81 conditions, Harrisburg, PA to Syracuse, NY →I-80 across Pennsylvania
I-80 across northern Pennsylvania runs 300 miles of ridges and valleys through the Allegheny Plateau with very few towns. Snow squalls off Lake Erie and ice on the Clearfield–Bellefonte grades cause chain-reaction pileups every winter.
Live I-80 conditions, Youngstown, OH to Stroudsburg, PA →I-95 from New York to Boston
The 215 miles of I-95 between New York and Boston is the busiest winter corridor in the country. Nor'easters bring heavy snow with a sharp rain–snow line that often sits right over Connecticut, so the same storm can be rain in Stamford and a foot of snow in Providence.
Live I-95 conditions, New York, NY to Boston, MA →Leaving earlier or later
The planner lets you change your departure time and compare. On a mountain pass, a few hours can be the difference between crossing ahead of a storm and arriving in the middle of it.
Thanksgiving travel weather FAQ
- When is Thanksgiving 2026?
- Thursday, November 26, 2026.
- Which roads get snow over Thanksgiving week?
- The mountain passes in the West and the lake-effect snow belts near the Great Lakes are the usual trouble spots. Exact conditions change every year, so check the forecast for your own drive. The corridors listed on this page each have a live conditions page.
- How far ahead can I check the weather for my drive?
- WeatherWeGo? shows an hour-by-hour forecast for each checkpoint up to about six and a half days ahead, from the National Weather Service hourly forecast. For drives further out, up to 45 days ahead, it shows the Climate Prediction Center's above- or below-normal outlooks instead of an hourly forecast, and beyond 45 days it tells you there is no usable forecast yet.
- Does WeatherWeGo? cost anything?
- It's free and works in the browser. No app is needed.
For route planning only. Conditions change by the hour; this page is a planning aid built on public forecasts and DOT feeds, and the road authority for each stretch has the final word on closures and chain requirements.