Fireworks are shot over the Empire State Building and the Manhattan skyline during the annual Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Display on Independence Day. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
June 29 (UPI) — This year's Fourth of July travel period is poised to be the busiest and hottest yet.
Travel numbers on the Saturday before Independence Day, which falls on Thursday, and the Sunday after, are expected to be 5% higher than in 2023 and 8% higher than in 2019, according to AAA.
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In total, AAA predicts that about 71 million people will travel more than 50 miles on Independence Day, with more than 60 million of them doing so by car, up about 5 percent from last year.
“With summer vacations in full swing and greater flexibility in remote work, more Americans are taking longer trips around the Fourth of July,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president at AAA Travel, said in a statement. “We expect the week of July to be our busiest ever, with 5.7 million more travelers traveling than in 2019.”
Gasoline prices are also cheaper than last year's national average of $3.53 a gallon, according to AAA, and are expected to continue to fall through the Fourth of July.
AAA rental car affiliate Hertz said it expects demand for rental cars to be highest in Dallas, Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and San Francisco during Independence Day week, with the busiest day being Wednesday.
Air travel is expected to get even busier, with the Transportation Security Administration predicting more than 32 million travelers from Thursday through July 8, up more than 5% from the previous month-end.
The TSA announced last Sunday that it screened nearly 3 million people in a single day, setting a new record.
“We expect this summer to be our busiest yet, with summer travel typically peaking around the Independence Day holiday,” TSA Administrator David Pekoski said in a statement. “Compared to last year, we have reduced turnover by nearly half and increased hiring as a result of the TSA compensation plan funded by the budget passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden.”
“Travelers are on the move, which is a sign of a healthy economy. Together with our airline and airport partners, we are ready to accommodate this increase in passenger numbers.”
This year's travel season is expected to be exceptionally hot across the US, with temperatures expected to reach 5 to 10 degrees above the historical average, according to AccuWeather.
Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s Fahrenheit in Atlanta, but could be slightly cooler in New York City.
Temperatures in Texas and other parts of the South are expected to exceed 100 degrees over the holiday weekend.
Further west, temperatures are expected to reach triple digits in San Francisco, Sacramento and Salt Lake City, where residents are urged to use caution with grills, open flames and fireworks to prevent wildfires.
Sunny skies are expected across most of the country, but scattered rain and thunderstorms could cause fireworks to be canceled in Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Des Moines, Iowa, and Kansas City, Missouri.
