A dip in gas prices means more travelers are hitting the road this holiday season. 

Average gas prices in Mississippi are $2.046 a gallon for regular grade, a decrease from $2.18 a  gallon this time last year, according to Michael Right, vice president of public affairs with AAA Travel of Missouri, which covers Mississippi. The national average price of gas as of Dec. 19 was $2.39 a gallon for regular grade. 

Right said prices have been been dropping the last couple of weeks because of lower crude oil prices.

In Meridian, Jana Marshall, who was traveling from Alabama on Thursday to visit her family in Texas, said gas prices were cheaper in Alabama than in Mississippi, at around a $1.98 a gallon. She said higher taxes might explain why gas costs more in some states.  

“The tax is much higher,” Marshall said.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi Welcome Center in Toomsuba is seeing an uptick in motorists this week. Sandra Chambers, the supervisor of the center, said staff schedules are being shifted around to accomodate the increase in travelers.   

“It is kind of hard for two people to keep up with the traffic,” Chambers said.

Tom Dean, from Wilmington, North Carolina, stopped at the center for a cup of coffee, before continuing on to Texas, where he plans to catch the Army Bowl. 

For truck driver Ben Smith, taking a break at the welcome center is one of his many stops as he travels for work. Smith, who was planning to spend time with his family in Tuscaloosa over the holidays, said he was glad gas prices are lower this year. 

To keep up with the increase in highway traffic, The Mississippi Department of Transportation released a travel advisory for some vehicles. From Dec. 24 until Dec. 26 and Dec. 31 until Jan. 2, 2019, oversized and overweight vehicles will be prohibited from traveling on state and federal highways.  

“Our top priority is the safety of all motorists traveling Mississippi highways during the upcoming holidays,” Melinda McGrath, MDOT executive director, said in a press release.

According to AAA, more than one-third of Americans will travel this holiday season. That is a record-breaking 112.5 million travelers, representing a 4.4 percent increase over last year and the most since AAA has been tracking holiday travel. 

Air travel

At the Meridian Regional Airport, travel is steady this week, but not as busy as it was during Thanksgiving, according to Tom Williams, president of the Meridian Airport Authority. 

“It looks like our strongest time is Thanksgiving,” Williams said. 

Willams said Friday is expected to be busy, with travel light on Christmas day. 

Weather forecast

According to the National Weather Service office in Jackson, travelers should expect temperatures to be in the upper 40s for Friday with a chance of rain. For Saturday until Christmas Eve, highs may be in the upper 50s and lower 60s, with a slight chance of rain. Christmas day will be sunny with a high of 68. 

Nationwide, a rainstorm is expected to move across the eastern United States, which could affect drivers traveling east.

Air travelers with a connection in Chicago face the possibility of snow Friday morning, but the rest of the weekend is expected to be clear. Air travelers with a connection in Dallas will find clear conditions through the weekend.

A storm could possibly hit the northwestern part of the country during the Christmas weekend.