Thanksgiving travel expected to be heaviest since 2007

Americans took to the roads, air and railways Wednesday for what is expected to be the busiest Thanksgiving travel period in almost a decade.

Almost 49 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more between Wednesday and Sunday, the most since 2007, because of lower gas prices and an improving economy, according to AAA.

Sitting on their suitcases at a departure lounge at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, a major travel hub, Sharyn Ioffe and her brother Saul Ioffe said there's a good chance politics will intervene this Thanksgiving when they arrive home in New York.

A winter storm warning was in effect for parts of northwest Washington state, with heavy snow expected through Thanksgiving Day.