And in Pennsylvania, 1.3 million are expected to be on the road, according to AAA East-Central Public Affairs Director Chelsea Pompeani.
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Gas prices in Minnesota Monday ranged from a low of $1.79 per gallon in Montrose to a high of $2.29 in Minneapolis. Last year, gasoline cost closer to $3.00 per gallon during Thanksgiving.
“In Cincinnati, the prices we’re seeing are at the lowest average since March 2009”, said Patrick DeHaan, a Chicago-based senior petroleum analyst for Gasbuddy.
Low crude prices have resulted in layoffs and work slowdowns throughout the oil-and-gas industry and have been blamed, in large part, for a rise in Houma-Thibodaux’s jobless rate. The national average sat at $2.06 per gallon Sunday but was expected to drop below $2 per gallon by Thanksgiving for the first time in years – down about 80 cents per gallon from this time in 2014.
“I would expect retailers to drop their prices prior to Thanksgiving to try and capture as much of the holiday travel money as possible”, Pelton said.
In Rutherford County, the average price Monday morning was between $1.84 in Murfreesboro and $1.90 in La Vergne, both of which are about 75 cents less than a year ago.
But that news of bigger crowds is tempered by good news of lower gasoline and hotel prices during the upcoming holidays.
She also said travelers that are taking to the skies should start to think about flying on Thanksgiving Day. But AAA says travel by cruises, trains, and buses will decrease 1.4 percent this Thanksgiving to 1.4 million passengers. “But in the days leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas, we see a lot of interest in our holiday events”. It predicts that D-FW will be the fourth-busiest airport nationally, and Eagle out of Waco links with American Airlines there for national and global service.
Holgersson said security is tight but efficient at Waco Regional, and passengers typically can board the planes in a matter of minutes. Harris says those travelers can expect a break on tickets. AAA projects that airfares will be down about 10 percent this year at an average price of $169 roundtrip for one of the top 40 domestic flight routes. Daily vehicle rentals are up 8 percent from last Thanksgiving. This is often when the last few seats are released.
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A hazardous weather outlook is in effect throughout the western two-thirds of Utah starting late Tuesday, with a Pacific storm bringing gusty winds, chilling temperatures and likely snow north of St. George by Wednesday.
