Travel tips for this Thanksgiving

Nearly 2 million Ohioans will travel at least 50 miles from home this Thanksgiving holiday, from Wednesday to Sunday, AAA estimates.

There are a few exceptions to the state’s stop-work orders.

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, in the 120 hours of the holiday weekend, there were registered seven auto crashes with seven fatalities, most of the crashes being caused by drunk drivers. During that month, gas prices averaged $1.79 nationwide, $1.83 in Florida, $1.68 in Georgia, and $1.66 in Tennessee.

“Across Montana, prices are averaging $2.31”, DeHaan said.

“Some folks automatically expect gas prices to rise in advance of a major travel holiday; that’s become a popular misconception and this holiday exemplifies the point”, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy, in the release. He said a trip of that length typically involves crossing state lines, and he urged motorists to make their gasoline purchases near these lines, “where gas tax differences can create a variety of gas prices”. Crude oil is hovering around $42 a barrel on the NY Mercantile Exchange Monday, which is one reason holiday travelers will notice gas prices are at their lowest levels since 2008, AAA said.

AAA Travel forecasts 46.9 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday, a 0.6 percent increase over the 46.6 million people who traveled previous year and the most since 2007.

Washington, D.C., where 1.1 million area residents say they plan to travel over the weekend, won’t be quite so bad. Last year, the average prices on Thanksgiving Day were $2.79 in Florida, $2.71 in Georgia, and $2.59 in Tennessee. 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 worldwide service.

Sluggish demand, increased production in US shale fields and OPEC’s refusal to cut its supply have been blamed, in large part, for a 60 percent decline in oil prices since last summer. Harris says those travelers can expect a break on tickets.

“We had 45 deaths past year from accidents on the roadways during the holiday season”, Fisher said.

Air travelers paid an average of $169 round trip, 10% less than previous year, for the top airline routes, According to AAA.

Temperatures also are expected to drop as Thanksgiving approaches, from a high in Fresno of 70 degrees on Monday to a high of 51 degrees on Thursday and a low of 33 degrees.