Limited precipitation chances through Thanksgiving

 

Clouds were quick to move in Tuesday evening ahead of moisture moving in from the Pacific. This had led to showers developing down state, stretching from central Plains all the way into Ohio. With temperatures still above freezing the precipitation has been falling as mostly rain. But as colder air moves in later tonight there should be a transition over to some snow showers along the northern edge from near Champaign to Indianapolis.

Further north skies have stayed dry, but cloudy. Temperatures have warmed into the upper 30s and low 40s with a light east wind. Winds will turn to the northwest Wednesday night, into Thursday, ushering in a colder air mass. With a few breaks in the cloud cover Thanksgiving Day temperatures will only warm to the mid-30s. Northwest winds will pick up as well, gusting 20-25 mph through the evening. A few flurries will also be possible during the evening as an upper-level disturbance moves across the Midwest and Great Lakes, but any accumulating snow will be tied to lake effect snow showers on the other side of Lake Michigan.

Drier air moving in Friday will help clear up some cloud cover, but temperatures will only warm into the mid-20s for highs with overnight lows in the teens. Northwest winds will gust upwards of 30 mph, pushing afternoon wind chills in the teens and overnight wind chills in the single digits. We may see a little more cloud cover return Saturday as a system passes to our south, but once again any snowfall associated with that should remain to our southwest.

Temperatures for Thanksgiving will be a touch cooler than the average 43 degrees, but not quite as cold as the 17-degree high recorded in 1930. The warmest Thanksgiving was all the back in 1914 with a high of 67. The wettest Thanksgiving was back in 2015 when just over an inch and a half of rain fell, and the snowiest occurred in 1968 with 4.5 inches being recorded. On average, measurable snowfall only occurs on Thanksgiving Day 12 percent of the time, with a TRACE of snow being recorded 30 percent of the time.