{"id":404486,"date":"2025-11-25T21:45:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T21:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/404486\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T21:45:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T21:45:13","slug":"here-is-the-best-time-to-drive-out-of-chicago-this-thanksgiving-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/404486\/","title":{"rendered":"Here is the best time to drive out of Chicago this Thanksgiving weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Chicagoans, we\u2019re almost there!<\/p>\n<p>Thanksgiving is a mere few days away, which means it\u2019s time to start hammering out those dreaded travel plans. Whether you\u2019re flying out of town to visit friends and family or opting to drive to your holiday destination,\u00a0Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.acg.aaa.com\/aaa-more-than-41-million-illinoisans-expected-to-travel-for-thanksgiving-il\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">some of the busiest travel days<\/a> of the year, so you\u2019ll want to plan accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>Compounding the holiday travel stress,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.acg.aaa.com\/aaa-more-than-41-million-illinoisans-expected-to-travel-for-thanksgiving-il\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AAA<\/a>\u00a0(the\u00a0American Automobile Association) estimates that 81.8 million people will be traveling between Tuesday, November 25, and Monday, December 1\u2014a 1.6 million leap from last year\u2019s estimate. With that in mind, we did some research to figure out what the best time to embark on your journey is.<\/p>\n<p>What is the weather forecast for this Thanksgiving weekend in Chicago?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s time to bust out the winter weather gear:\u00a0After a week of above-average temperatures, Chicago is bracing for a sweeping cold front this Thanksgiving.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcchicago.com\/weather\/major-weather-pattern-change-heading-to-chicago-area-by-thanksgiving-and-beyond\/3853778\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">NBC 5<\/a>\u00a0estimates that temperatures on Thanksgiving and Black Friday will hover around the low-30s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Chicago could experience polar vortex-esque conditions on or around Thanksgiving day. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov\/cpc_key_messages\/CPC-Key-Message-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">National Weather Service\u2019s Climate Prediction Center<\/a>, \u201cthe combined effects from the current La Nina, the Madden-Julian Oscillation, and potential for a rare November Sudden Stratospheric Warming event may usher in a significant pattern change later in the month and into early December.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To top it off, there\u2019s a chance Chicago could be blanketed by snow by the end of the week. Good thing we\u2019ll likely all be stuffed with turkey and mashed potatoes, sure to keep us warm.<\/p>\n<p>When is the best time to drive out of Chicago in my car on Thanksgiving weekend?<\/p>\n<p>According to AAA, the city\u2019s highways will be the most congested on Tuesday between 11am and 9pm and on Wednesday between 11am and 8pm. If you\u2019re ready to get out of dodge, opt to head out on Tuesday before noon or Wednesday before 11am, when traffic is expected to be lightest. If procrastination is your preferred pace of travel, you\u2019re in luck: minimal traffic is forecasted on Thanksgiving proper.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As for your return back home,\u00a0AAA warns that the peak congestion will hit on Sunday as drivers make their way home.<\/p>\n<p>No matter what your plans are, stay safe, warm and enjoy the holiday!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicagoans, we\u2019re almost there! Thanksgiving is a mere few days away, which means it\u2019s time to start hammering&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":222784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[11234,960,5386,1818,11235,1164],"class_list":{"0":"post-404486","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-categories-travel","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-illinois","12":"tag-news-transport-travel","13":"tag-travel"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115612531170928383","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}