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Mother Nature is preparing some unsavory conditions for the millions of Thanksgiving travelers: Bad weather, snow, the coldest temperatures since February and a potentially devastating storm are rolling through the holiday weekend.

Here’s a daily look at what to expect this week.

A fast-moving storm is bringing rain to parts of the East Coast, while a few snowflakes are falling around the Great Lakes. Some slippery patches are possible in elevated areas of the Northeast where temperatures remain cooler Tuesday.

Widespread travel problems are unlikely in the East. Airports in the New York City and Boston metropolitan areas may experience problems due to low clouds and light rain.

High air pressure keeps the central US free of dangerous travel weather.

Last week’s second atmospheric river storm is raging across parts of the West. Snow at high elevations will bury areas from California’s Sierra Nevada to the Colorado Rockies, while rain will fall at lower elevations.

Rainfall could be heavy enough to cause flash flooding in parts of central and southern California. Conditions will ease in California and Nevada throughout the day, but further east the weather will continue to fluctuate, particularly in Utah and Colorado.

Dry, calm and mostly sunny weather will shift eastward as the day progresses for last-minute travelers.

After a dry start to the day across the central United States, a storm will form over the southern Plains and Mississippi Valley in the afternoon. This storm will spread rain from the center of the country to the Appalachian Mountains overnight.

Rain could mix with snow at times in the evening from Illinois to northern Pennsylvania and southern New York. This would create favorable conditions for all early morning travelers on Thanksgiving.

Much of the West will dry out as the atmospheric river storm dissipates late in the day, except for Colorado and northern New Mexico.

1 to 2 feet of snow accumulation could occur By the end of the day, they rise to the higher elevations of Utah and western Colorado, with up to 3 feet on the highest peaks. Most of the snow will remain west of Denver.

With the exception of the East, much of the US will be dry but cold on Thanksgiving Day.

Cloudy weather will extend from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast as the storm, which formed late Wednesday, moves east.

Projected confidence in the storm’s strength and direction has increased after two different scenarios were possible on Monday.

A moderate storm will move from the central Appalachians in the morning and reach the southern New England coast by the afternoon. On the way it will be rainy and windy on the east coast.

The rain will not be heavy enough to cause flooding, but could lead to poor visibility for those traveling on the road at times. Many areas from the Gulf Coast to New England will receive less than an inch of rain.

Cloudy weather with low clouds could cause problems for East Coast airports at times.

Thursday will see wet, moist snow in the highest elevations of the Northeast. A few centimeters could accumulate in northern New York and New England by late Thursday evening.

Friday and the weekend

Dry but icy conditions will develop in the USA.

Morning minimum temperatures will be the coldest since last winter for millions of people. Maximum temperatures will peak in late December or January.

The Thanksgiving storm will be mostly from the east by sunrise, but downwind areas of the Great Lakes will see snowfall as Arctic air moves over the record-warm lakes.

Meters of snow could accumulate in some areas over the course of a few days as it continues to fall over the next week.

Wind gusts of 20 to 30 miles per hour will make for quite breezy conditions across the Midwest on Friday. These gusts could cause problems for busy airports in the region.

A widespread surge of cold, arctic air threatens much of the United States. Cool air will move into northern states early this week before a significant push of wintry air spreads on Thursday.

Chicago will have a hard time reaching the mid-30s on Thanksgiving Day – a temperature more suitable for late December. Parts of North Dakota will barely reach the teens and feel more like January.

Millions from coast to coast will be cold through Friday. Low temperatures early Friday morning will fall below zero in the Dakotas and fall into the teens and single digits across much of the north-central United States.

High temperatures south to the Gulf Coast will likely be 10 or more degrees below normal and some locations may not reach the 60s.

Many locations across the central and eastern United States will experience some of the coldest conditions so far this season over the weekend.

Philadelphia hasn’t recorded a high in the 30s since February, but could get close to it on both Saturday and Sunday. The same goes for New York City.

Cold air will persist across much of the East as the calendar turns to December and could last into the first week of the new month, according to forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center.

CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward contributed to this report.