The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is forecasting a bumper year for holiday travelers in 2025, predicting another record-breaking season for those on the move.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
The hustle and bustle of holiday travel is gearing up once more as individuals make their journeys homeward before the arrival of the new year.
This Saturday, both highways and airports nationwide are anticipated to be bustling with activity.
Chicago’s Midway Airport is poised to accommodate approximately 48,000 travelers on Saturday, marking it as their busiest day of the season.
READ ALSO | Essential information for Americans planning winter travel to Mexico amidst heightened caution advisories
According to the TSA, Chicago is experiencing at least a 6% increase in passenger numbers compared to the previous year.
At O’Hare airport, the projected busiest travel day already happened last week.
On Friday, there were some cancellations at O’Hare and Midway, mostly due to weather as storms moved through the west and east coasts.
For those driving to their destinations, traffic on the roads is also expected to be busiest from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the weekend.
Winter weather hits Northeast as new storm system moves across country
The New York City area accumulated just short of 3 inches of snow as difficult travel conditions are expected through Saturday morning while crews work to clean up this wintry mess.
Meanwhile, low temperatures across the Northeast from Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh to the North and East will be near or below freezing on Saturday night, allowing for refreezing of any slush or snow that’s still on the ground.
Another system will move through the region late Sunday into Monday but will be mostly rain, though some wintry mix will be possible into higher elevations.
On Saturday, the Rocky Mountains will get snow from Idaho and Montana through Wyoming and Colorado. On Sunday, some snow may linger in the Colorado Rockies and into northern New Mexico.
Next week is expected to start off wet for the East on Monday and will bring mostly rain to the East Coast, with some snow and wintry mix possible for the Great Lakes.
Most of the country should see dry and quiet weather leading up to New Year’s Eve, with the West seasonably warm and the East seasonably cooler.
After New Year’s, a new weather pattern will stick around for the start of 2026 as warmer temperatures should stick around for most of the West and reach down into parts of the South.
ABC News contributed to this report.
