Weather-related travel impacts minimal for Thanksgiving holiday

 

There will be a few light rain showers around late in our Thanksgiving Day holiday but impacts to travel - at least locally - should remain minimal. Under a mostly clear sky Monday night temperatures will fall through the low 30s, down into the low 20s for the start of Tuesday. The gusty west wind we felt during much of the afternoon will turn calm as high pressure settles in over the Stateline. Residents waking up Tuesday morning may notice a little fog, especially north of the state line, as well as some patchy frost.

Winds turn back to the southwest Tuesday afternoon warming temperatures into the middle 40s under a partly cloudy sky. A warm front will near the Stateline during the day Wednesday but remain just to our west and southwest during the afternoon. Some forecast models have been hinting at the potential for low clouds to stick around during the first half of the day Wednesday, limiting just how fast temperatures warm. But it does look like once the front clears the region any cloud cover should clear, leaving us with partly cloudy skies and temperatures warming into the upper 40s by the afternoon.

A storm system moving in from the west will pull a cold front across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin late Thursday evening. Moisture increases ahead of the front, but low pressure developing over the southern Plains will keep the majority of that moisture to the south. This will limit our rain potential during the day Thursday. Highs on Thursday will warm into the upper 40s and low 50s under mostly cloudy skies. Rain chances increase slightly towards sunset, with a few light showers lingering Thursday night.

The majority of the heavy rain will stay to our south and east, having more of an impact in the Southeast and along the East Coast. Temperatures on Friday will warm into the middle to upper 40s. By the weekend, however, the chance for rain does return as low-pressure lifts through the mid-Mississippi River Valley. The extent of how far north the rain moves is still a little up in the air, but showers are possible later Saturday and into Sunday.