Thanksgiving travel storm delays thousands of US flights rain and strong winds have been buffeting the southern and north-eastern US.

According to FlightAware.com, more than 4,800 flights within, into, and out of the US have been delayed and almost 70 have been cancelled by Tuesday night.

During this week’s holiday period, US airlines expect nearly 30 million passengers.

Several airports were closed on Tuesday due to foul weather, including Chicago, Atlanta, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Several areas of the east of the US are expected to see widespread rain through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

In a statement, Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the NWS, said Thanksgiving travel storm delays thousands of US flights and gusty weather will be over by Thanksgiving.

There will be some snowfall in parts of northern New England and Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho from there.

The weather this week is expected to be “quiet”, according to Mr Chenard, with temperatures around normal seasonal levels.

Several municipal agencies in New York City issued wind and rain warnings.

In a statement this week, Transportation Security Administration head David Pekoske said, “We expect this holiday season to be the busiest ever.”

Approximately 50 million Americans will drive 50 miles (80 km) or more for the holiday season, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

It would mark the third-highest travel numbers since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000 – a welcome return to pre-pandemic levels.

In a news conference on Monday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that his department had hired more air traffic controllers and opened new air routes along the US east coast to avoid delays.