Highways, airports and train stations busy for Thanksgiving weekend

Americans gassed up their cars and toted luggage and families to airports Wednesday, coping with crowds, traffic tie-ups and snow in the dash to get home in time for Thanksgiving turkey.

AAA said more than 37 million people will be traveling during the holiday weekend, undeterred by more expensive gasoline, rental cars and hotel rooms.

Snow was already falling Wednesday morning, the biggest travel day of the year, across parts of the Midwest, but Kate Kehoe wasn't too worried about her trip across Michigan from Ann Arbor to Flint.

"I'm glad gas is not $3 anymore," the preschool teacher said as she filled her tank.

The forecast for highway travel was almost matched by numbers expected on airplanes. The Air Transport Association, which represents major airlines, predicted 21.7 million people would fly on U.S. airlines from Nov. 19 to Nov. 29, slightly more than the record number a year ago.

"Air fares are up probably roughly $40 ... since last February, but that hasn't deterred people," Terry Trippler, an airline analyst with CheapSeats.com, said.

Snow threatened to create messy travel conditions across the Great Lakes states and south into the central Appalachians.

However, light snowfall during the morning caused no problems at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports, which expected nearly 2 million passengers during the holiday weekend, said Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Wendy Abrams.

Snow in Indiana contributed to numerous wrecks during the morning rush but no serious injuries were reported.

"It's the first snowfall of the year and people don't have the winter habits yet," said state Trooper Robert Brophy at Fort Wayne, Ind.

Snow showers were possible as far south as North Carolina, where Mount Mitchell had collected 10 inches overnight, and winter storm watches were in effect through Thursday evening for sections of West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland and northern New England, the National Weather Service said.

For hundreds of motorists, the day started with a miles-long traffic jam on Washington's Capital Beltway after a gasoline tanker truck exploded on Interstate 95 just north of the city. No injuries were reported and the highway was partially reopened in about three hours.

"This is not what we needed to start this travel day," said Lon Anderson, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Some travelers at Miami International Airport said conditions were surprisingly normal. "So far so good," said Miami resident Rosemarie Wilder, 61, heading to Atlanta with her daughter and granddaughter.

But people who weren't accustomed to Miami International didn't share her opinion. "It's like a hurricane," Martha Bittencourt, 54, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, said of the crowds as she waited for a flight to visit friends in Tennessee.

Some travelers had packed up and left a day early.

"I wanted to beat the rush," Joe Lamport said Tuesday after arriving at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with his family.

Amtrak put an extra 60 trains in service this week in the Northeast Corridor, but many trains were already sold out, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black told AP Radio. Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said 125,000 people last year rode Amtrak the day before Thanksgiving, up 80 percent from the 69,000 passengers on an average day.

Dallas-based Greyhound Lines Inc. didn't have passenger figures because most people buy their tickets on a walk-up basis, but traffic was up, said spokeswoman Anna Folmnsbee. Greyhound carried 780,000 during the holidays last year, she said.