The Old Farmer's Almanac has released its Thanksgiving week weather forecast, and the picture across the country is mixed: sunshine in some places, rain in others and snow in several regions. Parts of the Northeast, Atlantic Corridor, Appalachians, Lower Lakes, Upper Midwest and Alaska could see snow during Thanksgiving week.
The forecast is drawing attention now because it points to a holiday stretch when millions of travelers will be moving through regions with very different conditions at the same time. In the Northeast, the publication calls for rain on Thanksgiving with mild temperatures, while the window before and after the holiday could turn chillier and bring snow to the northern portion of the region as temperatures cool.
That regional split runs through the rest of the outlook. The Atlantic Corridor includes Boston, Providence, Hartford, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., all of which sit inside the same broad holiday weather picture. The Appalachians are forecast to see snow showers in the north and rain in the south, with warmer temperatures and sunshine possible on Thanksgiving before snow returns to the northern Appalachians over the weekend.
Elsewhere, the Southeast is expected to see warm temperatures and showers for Thanksgiving, followed by sunshine and slightly colder air over the weekend. The Lower Lakes could see showers on Thanksgiving with pleasant temperatures, then a return to sunny skies and cooler conditions. Thanksgiving week in that region also carries a chance for rain and snow with cool temperatures, and the Lower Lakes include Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee.
The Midwest and central U.S. are just as varied. The Ohio valley could see scattered showers before sunnier skies arrive for Thanksgiving, but temperatures are forecast to cool. The Deep South is expected to have a sunny Thanksgiving, although temperatures there will feel cooler than a preceding warm spell. The Upper Midwest is forecast to see flurries and snow showers, with temperatures colder than the historical average.
Farther west, St. Louis, Des Moines, Kansas City, Topeka and Omaha are forecast to move between sunshine and showers as temperatures swing warmer and colder through Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving itself is expected to bring rain and chilly conditions to those cities. Texas and Oklahoma are on the warmer end of the map, with a sunny Thanksgiving expected in the Texas-Oklahoma region, while Southern Texas is forecast to be warm with showers possible. Across the High Plains, the forecast calls for sunny skies and very warm temperatures.
The Old Farmer's Almanac frames the outlook as a long-range guide rather than an hour-by-hour forecast, so the exact timing of snow, rain or sunshine is not pinned to specific days. Even so, the holiday-week message is clear: the country is headed into Thanksgiving with a patchwork forecast, and the most unsettled conditions are most likely in the northern regions before and after the holiday itself.
