ST. LOUIS — Thursday—the day after Christmas—will be the worst day for holiday travel this year.
A record 115.6 million Americans are expected to travel this holiday season, from Saturday, Dec. 21 – Wednesday, Jan. 1, according to AAA. Nearly all of those travelers will be getting to and from their destinations by car.
Dec. 26 is expected to be the busiest day in that holiday stretch, but Dec. 27 won’t be much better.
The worst time to travel on Thursday and Friday is expected to be about 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. in most major cities. Nationally, drivers could see travel times nearly double, but drivers in Washington, D.C. and New York City could experience triple the delays.
“Travelers should be getting used to crowded highways and airports, as this marks the eighth straight year of new record-high travel volumes for the year-end holidays,” said Paula Twidale, vice president, AAA Travel.
Here are the worst days and times to travel in the largest U.S. cities, according to AAA:
- Atlanta: Dec. 26, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
- Boston: Dec. 27, 4 – 6 p.m.
- Chicago: Dec. 26, 4:45 – 6:45 p.m.
- Detroit: Dec. 26, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
- Houston: Dec. 27, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
- Los Angeles: Dec. 26, 4:25 – 6:25 p.m.
- New York: Dec. 26, 4:15 – 6:15 p.m.
- San Francisco: Dec. 26, 4 – 6 p.m.
- Seattle: Dec. 27, 4:15 – 6:15 p.m.
- Washington, D.C.: Dec. 26, 4 – 6 p.m.
The weather is expected to be clear for most drivers throughout the country, but storms are expected in the Great Lakes region and the southwestern U.S.
Nearly 105 million Americans are driving to their holiday destinations, which is a 3.9% increase from last year. About 7 million Americans are expected to fly, which is the most since 2003.