Rain makes for soggy travel on getaway day

The busiest travel day of the year has been a soggy one so far, but the rain will finally move out tonight, forecasters say.

As the evening commute ramps up, a few spotty showers are expected to pass over Long Island, but "nothing like what we saw last night into today," said Joey Picca, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

"Conditions are improving, but the roads are still wet out there," Picca said, urging caution to those on the roads who are trying to get to their Thanksgiving destinations.

Anywhere from just under an inch of rain (0.95 in Riverhead) to nearly 21/2 inches (2.4 in Lynbrook) fell on Long Island, courtesy of the low-pressure system that moved in Tuesday night and stuck around for most of Wednesday, forecasters said.

The system is expected to clear out in the late evening, with temperatures in the mid 30s, Picca said. Winds will be 10 to 20 mph, with gusts to 25 mph overnight, he said.

The weather has prompted officials at LaGuardia Airport to put a "traffic management program" into effect, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Some arriving flights were being delayed an average of 1 hour and 18 minutes as a result, the FAA said, with general departure delays of between 16 minutes and 30 minutes "and increasing."

As of 6 p.m., Kennedy Airport and Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip were experiencing delays of 15 minutes or less on arrivals and departures, the FAA said.

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, the skies are expected to be clear with temperatures in the low 50s. The winds are expected to diminish in time for the Thanksgiving Day parade in Manhattan -- to 5 to 10 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 over last year. Despite higher gasoline prices, however, 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 were expected to pass through Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International and Stewart International airports, the Port Authority said.

Long Island MacArthur Airport had no projections available for the weekend.

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 added train service Wednesday and Thursday. Also, off-peak fares will be in effect for the four-day weekend.

With Keith Herbert and Gary Dymski