Maps show storms could cause Thanksgiving travel chaos as 80million are set to hit the roads and 18M will take to the air this week

New maps have revealed just how chaotic travel will be over Thanksgiving, as wintry weather is set to complicate the journeys of the millions of travellers who are set to go home this week.

Auto club and insurance company AAA predicts that nearly 80 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday.

The Transportation Security Administration expects 18.3 million people at US airports during the same seven-day stretch, 6% more than during the corresponding days last year.

The National Weather Service office in Sacramento, California, issued a winter storm warning for the Sierra Nevada through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected at higher elevations and wind gusts potentially reaching 55mph.

Total snowfall of roughly 4 feet was forecast, with the heaviest accumulations expected Monday and Tuesday, a worrying development for those travelling home for Thanksgiving. 

The Midwest and Great Lakes regions will see rain and snow Monday and the East Coast will be the most impacted on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, forecasters said.

A low pressure system is forecast to bring rain to the Southeast early Thursday before heading to the Northeast. 

Areas from Boston to New York could see rain and breezy conditions, with snowfall possible in parts of northern New Hampshire, northern Maine and the Adirondacks. 

If the system tracks further inland, there could be less snow and more rain in the mountains, forecasters said.

'The system doesn't look like a powerhouse right now,' Hayden Frank, a meteorologist with the weather service in Massachusetts, said Sunday. 'Basically, this is going to bring rain to the I-95 corridor so travelers should prepare for wet weather. Unless the system trends a lot colder, it looks like rain.'

Frank said he isn't seeing any major storm systems arriving for the weekend anywhere in the country so travelers heading home Sunday can expect good driving conditions. Temperatures, however, will get colder in the East while warming up out West.

California's Mammoth Mountain, which received 2 feet (.6 meters) of fresh snow in the recent storm, could get another 4 feet (1.2 meters) before the newest system clears out Wednesday, the resort said.

Into Thanksgiving, parts of the Midwest and East Coast can expect to see heavy rain, and there's potential for snow in Northeastern states.

A storm last week brought rain to New York and New Jersey, where wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. 

The precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions after an exceptionally dry fall.

'It's not going to be a drought buster, but it's definitely going to help,' said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.

Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. 

Adding to the complication of travel is a major strike at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, who are protesting what they say are unlivable wages. 

Officials with Service Employees International Union announced the impending strike in a statement early Monday, saying the workers would demand 'an end to poverty wages and respect on the job during the holiday travel season.'

ABM and Prospect Airport Services contract with American Airlines to provide services including cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs.

Workers say they previously raised the alarm about their growing inability to afford basic necessities, including food and housing. They described living paycheck to paycheck, unable to cover expenses like car repairs while performing jobs that keep countless planes running on schedule.

'We're on strike today because this is our last resort. We can´t keep living like this,' ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said in a statement. 'We´re taking action because our families can´t survive.'

Several hundred workers were expected to walk off the job and continue the work stoppage throughout Monday.

Most of them earn between $12.50 and $19 an hour, which is well below the living wage for a single person with no children in the Charlotte area, union officials said.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials have said this holiday travel season is expected to be the busiest on record, with an estimated 1.02 million passengers departing the airport between last Thursday and the Monday after Thanksgiving.

In addition to walking off the job, striking workers plan to hold an 11am rally and a 1pm 'Strikesgiving' lunch 'in place of the Thanksgiving meal that many of the workers won't be able to afford later this week,' union officials said.

'Airport service workers make holiday travel possible by keeping airports safe, clean, and running,' the union said. 'Despite their critical role in the profits that major corporations enjoy, many airport service workers must work two to three jobs to make ends meet.'

ABM said it would take steps to minimize disruptions from any demonstrations. 

'At ABM, we appreciate the hard work our team members put in every day to support our clients and help keep spaces clean and people healthy,' the company said in a statement last week.

Prospect Airport Services said last week that the company recognizes the seriousness of the potential for a strike during the busy holiday travel season.