Thousands of people were flying out of Maine’s airports and hundreds of thousands of vehicles took to the highways Wednesday as Mainers planning holiday visits made the eve of Thanksgiving one of the busiest travel days of the year.

It was the busiest day of all on the Maine Turnpike, which was expected to be used by 220,000 vehicles on Wednesday, said spokesman Dan Paradee.

The heaviest traffic would be in the evening as travelers bound for turkey-day visits mixed with regular workday commuters on the toll highway

In Oxford, Franklin and Androscoggin counties, it was dark and rainy and downright unpleasant.

But police in central Maine said Wednesday night that there were few traffic problems as people traveled to their holiday destinations.

Maine State Police said traffic was heavy on the turnpike hours after the evening commute began. Other than a few cars and trucks slipping off slick roads, however, no serious crashes had been reported by later Wednesday night.

County sheriff’s departments reported heavier-than-normal traffic by nightfall, but no serious wrecks were reported in Oxford, Franklin and Androscoggin counties.

In Lewiston and Auburn, several minor collisions were reported during late afternoon and evening.

Most were attributed to rainy conditions and impatient drivers.

At Portland International Jetport, where long lines were already forming before dawn and numbers remained “steady and strong” through the day, travelers showed they have grown accustomed to heightened security by showing up for flights early, said Portland Transportation Director Jeff Monroe.

Officials at both the Portland and Bangor airports expected traffic to be at least as heavy on Sunday, the day nearly all travelers return home.

Weather conditions didn’t appear to be much of a factor on Wednesday in Maine, but the National Weather Service in Gray predicted rain over most of the state during the daytime on Thanksgiving, with thunderstorms possible in some parts of southern Maine.

Maine’s weather situation was much better than that of other parts of the country. Heavy snow in the nation’s midsection and thunderstorms in the South snarled traffic and contributed to long lines and big crowds at some airports.