NEW YORK – Tens of millions of Americans returning home after the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend Sunday had cooperative weather and mostly efficient airport operations to thank for smooth traveling conditions.

Besides a winter storm that will bring freezing rain and snow to the central Plains Sunday night and into Monday, weather across much of the country is seasonably mild, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Sullivan.

“Enjoy it while it lasts,” he said.

Most airports across the country were running with delays of 15 minutes or less Sunday night, according to Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control system data. But a large volume of passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International, Newark International in New Jersey and LaGuardia in New York led to slightly longer delays, the data show.

In Atlanta, officials are projecting 88,000 travelers to pass through the world’s busiest airport by the end of Sunday, making it their busiest day so far this year. A spokesman for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport said the previous record for the year was 80,000 people on Columbus Day.

Lobbying group Airlines for America estimated more than 25 million passengers would take to the sky on U.S. airlines during the 12 days surrounding Thanksgiving.

And the motoring group AAA estimated that nearly 47 million Americans were expected to travel at least 50 miles from home via car, plane or bus over the weekend – the highest number since 2007.