Thanksgiving 2016: The Worst Moment To Leave Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA — Planning to hit the road Wednesday to reach your family Thanksgiving destination? Well, you're not alone. Not by a long shot.

In fact, Wednesday is going to be the absolute worst day, traffic-wise, to leave Atlanta before the holiday, according to data provided to Patch by Google.

Google Maps measured traffic from 2015 in 25 cities, using the location and speed of Android devices running its operating system. If you absolutely must brave the traffic on I-75, I-85 or I-285 on Wednesday, the tech giant's data suggests you should do so before 5 a.m., and absolutely try to be out of city traffic by 3 p.m. Wednesday.

According to Google, Sunday would have been the best day to get on the road before Thanksgiving.

So, what about coming back?

If you can swing it, returning to Atlanta on Friday would make for the smoothest trip, Google says. Your best bet is to hit the road before 6 a.m. and avoid traffic around 4 p.m.

If you want to spend hours on highways that feel like parking lots, come back on Saturday. That's the worst day to return, according to Google.

Using data collected by Google Maps, the company provided these other Thanksgiving travel tidbits for Atlanta drivers:

• If you're heading to the airport, get there before noon or after 4 p.m. to avoid the worst of airport traffic. If you need to arrive at the airport around 4 p.m., delays could more than double your trip time.
• On the day before Thanksgiving, Atlanta's top 5 trending destination categories in Google Maps are: deli, amusement park, butcher shop, night club, wine store
• On Thanksgiving Day, that list becomes: outlet mall, buffet restaurant, electronics store, appliance store, state park
• And on Black Friday? The most popular Google Maps destinations in Atlanta are: outlet mall, appliance store, amusement park, animal shelter, historic site

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