Thanksgiving Storm 2013: Nasty Weather Could Disrupt Holiday Travel Plans On East Coast [FORECAST]

Those planning to travel during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday could be met with some significant weather that has the potential to drastically alter plans. Winter Storm Boreas - a storm that has already made its mark in the West - may become a major problem during the holiday since meteorologists expect the Arctic mass to make its way toward the southern and eastern portions of the United States. Travel plans for a large chunk of the busy Thanksgiving period could endure drastic changes or even cancellations depending on the force the winter storm carries once it arrives.

According to Weather.com, the northeast will begin to feel the effects of the storm beginning in the early morning hours of Tuesday, November 26. The storm - which has already claimed at least 13 lives in the West while creating massive accidents and event cancellations - will come in the form of a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain. Road conditions will obviously worsen as the storm continues to develop, with the wintry annoyance heading into the New England area by Tuesday evening. Ice accumulations are also a possibility, with the snow changing to a mixture of freezing rain and sleet as it moves from the northern parts of New England to the upper and central regions of New York and Pennsylvania. The worst weather in the Northeast is expected to come on Tuesday and Wednesday.

With the day before Thanksgiving considered the busiest travel day of the year, NBC News indicates that because the storm continues to pick up speed and will impact the Northeast, an estimated 43 million Americans planning to travel will be at risk. Over 3 million people are expected to fly to their holiday destinations but because the storm will do most of its damage leading up to Thanksgiving, the possibility for flights in the New York, Boston and other major eastern locations to be cancelled is very strong.

"It's certainly going to be a travel impact as we see the first few people making their way for Thanksgiving," meteorologist Tom Bradshaw said, while also noting that a storm like this is very difficult to predict. "It's very difficult to pin those down. It's slow moving and it's sort of bringing its energy out in pieces so it's kind of hard to time these as they come across with a great deal of accuracy."

After touching parts of California, New Mexico and Arizona while also causing harm to other areas of the West, people should now use caution when finalizing their Thanksgiving travel plans with this storm holding the potential to be extremely dangerous both on the ground and in the air.