At a Glance
- An arctic air mass will engulf the Northeast in time for Thanksgiving.
- Some cities may see their coldest Thanksgiving Day on record.
- Lows will be 15 to 30 degrees below average Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Another blast of cold air will bring one of the coldest Thanksgivings on record for some Northeast cities.
A strong area of high pressure originating from the Arctic Circle is now sweeping into the Northeast, and will send temperatures plummeting toward levels you might expect on New Year’s Day, not Thanksgiving Day.
(INTERACTIVE: Current Temperatures)
(Winds will make these temperatures feel cooler than these numbers indicate in some parts of the country. )
Low temperatures Thanksgiving morning and Black Friday will be 15 to 30 degrees below average for late November.
The temperature for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City was the coldest iteration of the event since it began in 1924. The parade started with temperatures near 20 degrees, northwest winds from 15 to 20 mph and feels like temepratures of 7-10 degrees.
Blast of snow for New England before record-cold Thanksgiving
(NEW YORK) — Across the Northeast Tuesday morning, winter weather advisories are in effect, with much of New England anticipating snow.
Around 7 a.m. EST snowfall’s expected to begin from western Massachusetts to Albany, New York, as well as in southern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Snow showers from Buffalo to Watertown are also expected in New York.
Widespread snowfalls of 2 to 4 inches are possible, with some areas, including higher elevations, potentially seeing as much as 6 inches.
Thanksgiving Day is going to be frigid, with wind chills in the Northeast below zero and in the teens from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.
Record lows are expected throughout the region, with daytime temperatures forecast to be 20 to 35 degrees below normal. Temps should return to normal by the weekend.
On the West Coast, much-needed rain should be falling soon, necessitating a flood watch for parts of Northern California from Wednesday evening through Friday morning. Heavy rains may help extinguish the deadly Camp Fire, but too much precipitation could lead to mudslides.
Happy Thanksgiving! We are setting some records up here on the summit! So far we have officially gotten down to -25°F, breaking our daily record low as well as Novembers monthly record low. Winds have been sustained over hurricane force so wind chills are -70°F to -75°F. pic.twitter.com/KNhmrVjUqJ
— MWObservatory (@MWObs) November 22, 2018
Frigid winds to whip through NYC for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The 92nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will take place on Thursday morning, with over 3.5 million people expected to line the streets of Manhattan to watch the dazzling display of balloons and floats.
The coldest air so far this season will descend on the Big Apple in time for the parade, accompanied by icy winds.
“It will be a cold day in New York for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, so spectators will need to bundle up,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis, adding that dry, sunny weather would prevail for the festivities.
Sunshine my be ineffective given the temperature and wind forecast for the region.
Feds set to release major climate report…
The federal government will release a major climate change report – Volume II of the National Climate Assessment – on Black Friday, typically one of the slowest news days of the year.
“It’s an absolute disgrace to bury the truth about climate impacts in a year that saw hundreds of Americans die during devastating climate-fueled megafires, hurricanes, floods, and algal blooms,” said National Wildlife Federation president Collin O’Mara in a statement.
Volume II is expected to detail a range of current and future climate change impacts and again warn that the Earth is warming, humans are the cause, and the already serious impacts – such as the current California wildfires – are only going to get worse, Climate Central said.
The new report should also have more of a regional focus, as demand rises for more local information on risks and consequences, said Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist at Climate Central.