The worst times to drive in Houston over the Thanksgiving holiday

A file photo of traffic (pixabay).

Traffic is always rough in Houston, but around the holidays it gets even worse.

Traffic app Waze looked at data from last year to determine the worst days to travel around the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

According to Waze, the early turkey gets the worm as the highest anticipated surges in traffic nationally happen after 12 p.m. in the week surrounding the holiday.

The app says nationally the worst time to travel around Thanksgiving is the Tuesday prior at 5 p.m. local time and the worst time to travel home after Thanksgiving is Monday, November 27 at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time.

Waze recommends drivers avoid the roads during the following times next week when traffic is expected to be at its worst: 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, 12-2 p.m. Thursday, 2-4 p.m. Friday, 2-5 p.m. Saturday, 1-3 p.m. Sunday and 4-6 p.m. Monday after Thanksgiving.

The app's data also shows a spike of last minute shoppers on Thanksgiving Day as people drive to supermarkets, perhaps for forgotten cranberry sauce.

Waze says some of the most popular retailers people will drive to on Black Friday include Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Costco.

Happy holidays!