Thanksgiving Weather: Millions of people are expected to meet their families in different parts of the country on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving. As Americans travel to different regions with loved ones, let’s take a look at the weather conditions on vacation.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), heavy lake snow and gusty winds, including some localized blizzard conditions, will continue through Thanksgiving across the Great Lakes.
A thick lake effect will continue from Michigan to New York by the end of the week, and the weather will cool significantly in the eastern half of the country.
January as weather conditions
Many areas will feel more like January, with highs 5 to 15 degrees below the late November average and in some cases even more, the forecaster says.
Does weather affect travel?
The cooler weather will also include heavy snow downwind of the Great Lakes through Friday evening, with some areas getting over a foot of accumulation in a more persistent lake effect.
This will severely affect travel between now and early Saturday and some roads may be closed at times.
The NWS said the pleasantly mild weather seen Wednesday from the southeastern U.S. to New England will be replaced by much cooler air from Canada in time for Thanksgiving and into the coming weekend.
It’s a chilly day in the city with temperatures around 40 degrees, but wind gusts between 25 mph (40 km/h) and 30 mph (48 km/h) will make it colder, the AP reported, citing David Stark, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York.
From the west, a compact and well-organized low pressure system approaches the Washington and Oregon coasts on Thanksgiving afternoon and evening before moving inland over the Intermountain West and Rockies on Friday.
“Windward terrain in Washington and Oregon could see several inches of rain and 1-2 feet of snow in the higher elevations of the Cascades and slightly lower totals in the mountains of Idaho and Montana. Improving conditions will return to the area early Saturday.”
Winter storm
As an influx of arctic air from Canada meets shortwave energy, another major winter storm will begin to develop across the northern plains on Friday.
Widespread light to heavy snow is expected from Montana to the western Great Lakes, and a wintry mix is expected south of the snow line from Missouri to Indiana.
“There is the potential for 6 to 12 inches of snow accumulation in the hardest-hit areas, and the weather forecast issued key messages regarding this next event. Severe travel disruptions become likely for much of the northern Plains and Midwest Friday through Saturday,” the NWS said.
According to the Thunderstorm Prediction Center, a few thunderstorms will be possible across central/southern FL through the afternoon, but low-level drying will eventually stabilize the air mass and end the convective threat after dark.
