Holiday travelers facing stormy weather

Stormy weather Wednesday could dump more than 13/4 inches of rain on Long Island, complicating the busiest travel day of the year for thousands.

Long Islanders who hoped to make a dead-of-night getaway early Wednesday morning for the holiday weekend will most likely encounter the heaviest rain of the day, said Ashley Sears, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton.

Most rain was expected to fall between midnight and 6 a.m. Wednesday. Winds Wednesday will pick up, gusting between 25 and 30 mph, Sears said. The rain and low clouds might cause traffic jams, and airline and railroad delays. Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, the skies are expected to be clear with temperatures in the 50s.

"Anybody taking off early [Wednesday] might be affected," Sears said.

Rainfall totals are expected to be 13/4 inches on the Island and nearly 2 inches in New York City. A low-pressure system moved from the Ohio River Valley and will park over the East Coast Wednesday. When the rain moves out by afternoon, the winds will pick up, forecasters said.

"Night is when we're going to have the strongest winds," Sears said.

Winds are predicted to be 15 to 20 mph out of the north, with gusts up to 25 to 30 mph.

Travel forecasters say more people will be on the road this year. The AAA anticipates 42.5 million people will travel at least 50 miles from Wednesday through Sunday. That's up 4 percent from Thanksgiving last year. Automobile travel will account for 90 percent of it.

The average gasoline price is up 63 cents from over last year. However, despite higher gasoline prices, there is "pent-up demand" for travel. Travel during other holidays this year has been flat, mostly because of slow recovery from the 2008 economic recession, foresters said.

More than 1.3 million passengers are expected to pass through Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International and Stewart International airports, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said. Long Island MacArthur Airport had no projections for the weekend available. An audit by the U.S. Department of Transportation's inspector general in 2010 found that more than half of all delays at New York City area airports were caused by the weather.

Air travelers should allow extra time when going to the airport during the holiday weekend, the Port Authority said.

Distracted drivers could pay a price this holiday weekend on Long Island and across the state. That's because New York State Police will cruise state highways looking for drivers chatting on cellphones or sending text messages when they should be focusing on the road, officials said.

Added patrols will be on the road Wednesday in Suffolk and on Sunday in Nassau, a police spokesman said.

"It's very dangerous," the spokesman, Trooper Frank Bandiero, said of driving while distracted.

For train riders looking to avoid traffic jams, the Long Island Rail Road is adding train service Wednesday and Thursday. Also, off-peak fares will be in effect for the four-day weekend.

For Black Friday, the railroad will have a full weekday schedule even with off-peak fares. There will also be a special Family Fare discount, which allows as many as four children, ages 5 to 11, to ride all day for the advance purchase price of $1 each way with a parent or guardian.