Thanksgiving day weather alert: Blizzard conditions to prevail — will storms impact travel in parts of US? check details
Thanksgiving day weather: Colder temperatures will prevail in the eastern US with significant snow accumulation, leading to severe travel disruptions into Saturday. Heavy lake effect snow and gusty winds are forecast across the Great Lakes, impacting travel.
Thanksgiving Weather: Millions of people are all set to meet their families in different parts of the country on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving. As Americans travel to various regions with loved ones, let's take a look at weather conditions on holiday.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), heavy lake effect snow and gusty winds, including some local blizzard conditions, will continue into Thanksgiving Day across the Great Lakes.
The heavy lake effect snow will continue from Michigan to New York through the end of the week and the weather will turn much colder for the eastern half of the country.
January like weather conditions
Many areas will feel more like January, with highs running 5 to 15 degrees below the late November average, and even more in some cases, says the forecaster.
Weather to affect travel?
The colder weather pattern will also include heavy snow downwind of the Great Lakes through Friday evening, with some areas getting over a foot of accumulation in the more persistent lake effect.
This will severely affect travel from now into early Saturday, and some roads could become impassable at times.
The NWS said that pleasantly mild weather that was experienced from the Southeast US to New England on Wednesday will be replaced by a much colder airmass from Canada in time for Thanksgiving Day and going into the upcoming weekend.
It's a chilly day in the city, with temperatures in the 40s, but wind gusts between 25 mph (40 kph) and 30 mph (48 kph) will make it feel colder, reported AP quoting David Stark, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York.
Out West, a compact and well-organized low pressure system approaches the Washington and Oregon coasts in the afternoon and evening of Thanksgiving Day, and then moves inland across the Intermountain West and Rockies on Friday.
“A couple inches of rain is possible for the windward terrain of Washington and Oregon, and 1-2 feet of snow for the higher elevations of the Cascades and slightly lighter totals for the Idaho and Montana mountains. Improving conditions return to this region by early Saturday.”
Winter storm
As a surge of arctic air from Canada meets with the shortwave energy, the next major winter storm starts developing across the northern Plains on Friday.
Widespread moderate to heavy snow is forecast from Montana to the western Great Lakes, and a wintry mix to the south of the snowfall axis from Missouri to Indiana.
“The potential exists for 6 to 12 inches of snow accumulation for the most impacted areas, and the Weather Prediction has issued Key Messages regarding this next event. Severe travel disruptions are becoming likely for much of the northern Plains and the Midwest late Friday into Saturday,” said NWS.
According to the storm prediction center, a few thunderstorms will be possible over central/south FL through the afternoon, but low-level drying will eventually stabilize the air mass and end the convective threat after dark.