Mother Nature is about to deliver some unsavory conditions to the millions of Thanksgiving travelers: sloppy weather, snow, the coldest temperatures since February and a potentially disruptive storm are on their way over the holiday weekend.

Here you can read from day to day what you can expect this week.

Wednesday

Dry, calm and mostly sunny weather will shift eastward during the day for last-minute travelers.

A storm will develop over the southern Plains and Mississippi Valley in the afternoon, after a dry start to the day in the central US. This storm will spread rain from the center of the country to the Appalachians.

From Illinois into northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, rain may mix with snow for a while in the evening. This would create slippery conditions for all early morning travelers on Thanksgiving.

After a period of active weather, the West also looks great for Wednesday, and the dry spell will continue through the busy travel period at least early next week.

Heavy snow is expected in western Colorado Tuesday evening. Heavy snow is expected to fall Wednesday afternoon. Higher elevations in western Colorado could see 2 to 3 feet of snow. Denver could see 1 to 3 inches of snow on Wednesday, but with temperatures in the low 30s, motorists shouldn’t see any significant travel impacts.

As snow ends in the Rockies, the storm system will begin spreading rain into the Midwest and Mississippi valleys Wednesday afternoon. Rain will move into the Ohio and Tennessee valleys Wednesday evening.

Thursday

Much of the US will be dry but cold on Thanksgiving Day, with the exception of the East.

Rain will extend from southeast to northeast, with light snow inland in the Northeast and northern New England.

“I think Thursday is going to be our messiest day,” CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa said Tuesday afternoon. “Many of us will be looking at soggy turkeys for Thanksgiving” because of travel issues along much of the East Coast.

The rain will not be heavy enough to cause flooding, but could lead to poor visibility for motorists at times. Many areas, from the Gulf Coast to New England, will see less than an inch of rain.

Gloomy weather with low clouds can sometimes cause problems for airports on the East Coast.

Wet, sloppy snow will fall at the highest points of the Northeast on Thursday. Several inches could accumulate in northern New York and New England late Thursday evening.

Some areas will see some really cold temperatures moving in.

“The first significant Arctic outbreak of the season will occur in the Northern Plains on Thanksgiving,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

Friday and the weekend

Dry but frigid conditions will develop over the US.

The low morning temperatures for millions of people will be the coldest they have experienced for most of the year. High temperatures peak at similar levels in late December or January.

The Thanksgiving storm will be mostly from the east at sunrise, but lake-effect snow will develop in areas downwind of the Great Lakes as Arctic air flows over the record warm lakes.

Over the course of a few days, several feet of snow could accumulate in some places and continue to fall into next week.

Wind gusts of 20 to 30 km per hour will make it quite windy in the Midwest throughout Friday. These gusts of wind could cause problems for busy airports in the region.

The This is reported by the National Weather Service weather disruptions to highway travel are likely Friday through Monday on Interstate 90 between Cleveland and Buffalo and Interstate 81 north of Syracuse due to lake-driven snow.

“Travel may be very difficult to impossible in the hardest-hit areas,” the weather service said. “The predicted accumulations will become clearer as the event approaches.”

The National Weather Service office in Buffalo said some major roads could be closed due to very low visibility and deep snow cover.

The coldest air since last winter is coming in

A widespread cold snap of cold Arctic air threatens much of the US.

“Temperatures will likely be the coldest since mid-February in the Northern Plains and Midwest, marking an abrupt change from the record or near-record warm fall so far,” the Weather Prediction Center said.

Chicago will struggle to reach the mid-30s on Thanksgiving Day – a temperature better suited for late December. Parts of North Dakota will barely reach the teens and will look more like January.

Millions from coast to coast will be freezing on Friday. Low temperatures on Friday morning will dip below zero in the Dakotas and dip into the low teens across much of the northern and central US.

High temperatures as far south as the Gulf Coast will likely be 10 degrees or more below normal, and some locations may not exceed 60 degrees.

Many regions in the central and eastern US will experience their coldest conditions yet this season.

Philadelphia hasn’t recorded a high in the 30s since February, but could get close on Saturday or Sunday. The same can be said of New York City.

Cold air will linger over much of the East as the calendar shifts to December and could last until the first week of the new month, according to forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center.

CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward contributed to this report.

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