Forecast: Here's what weather in RI looks like for the busiest travel day of the year

PROVIDENCE − Southern New England travelers hitting the road for Thanksgiving will run into rain, and probably snow if they're heading north, on Wednesday, but the weather should turn dry for the holiday.

Thanksgiving Day in the Providence area looks sunny with a high near 48 degrees and a northwest wind of 10 to 16 mph, according to the National Weather Service's forecast.

But a storm before Thanksgiving will affect travel in much of the East early this week, including New England late Tuesday and Wednesday, according to forecasts.

Will the storm bring snow and rain on the busiest travel day of the year?

"Tuesday night and Wednesday will be the only period of impactful weather for the extended forecast period, bringing snow, rain, and strong winds to" Southern New England, the weather service said in its forecast discussion.

The storm will affect what's expected to be the busiest travel day around the holiday. AAA is projecting an increase in Thanksgiving travel this year, with an estimated 55.4 million Americans traveling, and says the roads will be busiest on Wednesday.

For the Providence area, rain should hold off until about 8 p.m. Tuesday and wind down by about 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the weather service.

Although the weather service says snow could mix with rain in the northwestern part of Rhode Island Tuesday night, it's expecting little or no accumulation.

It's a different story in Northern New England. AccuWeather says 6 to 12 inches is forecast from central New Hampshire to much of northwestern Maine.

Farther south, AccuWeather says strong winds from the storm could cause problems with travel at some "airports from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia and New York City with the worst conditions late Tuesday.

For Southern New England, "the other impact of this system will be strong winds, especially along the coast" the National Weather Service says. The wind should gust 25 to 40 along the coast with stronger winds possible for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, the weather service says.

"Dry but breezy and cooler conditions are expected on Thanksgiving as (northwest) winds pull in colder air, with highs in the 40s," the weather service says.

By the way, the weather service notes that the Providence area last had measurable Thanksgiving snowfall in 2014, with 0.3 inches.

The record for Thanksgiving snowfall was set in 1989, when the Providence area got eight inches.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI Weather: Rainy with chance of snow but dry on Thanksgiving