This is the time of year when many snow loving Michiganders dream of a white Christmas, but what about the probability of a white Thanksgiving.
November is a month of drastic temperatures swings and often our first measurable snowfall. It's really not all that uncommon to see a few flakes or even light snow on Thanksgiving Day.
The chance for a snow depth of 1” or greater or measurable snowfall on this harvest holiday for Metro Detroit is in the 20-40% category. The average high and low temperature for this year’s Thanksgiving Day (11/23) in Detroit is 45° (high) and 32° (low).
The record snowfall on this day is 2.3" set back in 2005. One thing to remember is our average high temperature is still warm enough for most precipitation to fall as rain.
Detroit has seen a rollercoaster of temperatures the past five Thanksgiving holidays. While two have recorded snowfall (2013 and 2014), two have warmed into the low 60s (2012 and 2015) enforcing the idea of November weather extremes.
The is the 6-10 day temperature outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for November 21-25. This stretch covers next Tuesday through Saturday, including Thanksgiving Day. Metro Detroit and all of Lower Michigan is highlighted in the blue, which signifies a higher than normal chance of below average temperatures during that time. The general pattern next week is cool weather in the East and warmer in the West.
This year’s Thanksgiving Day weather pattern shows a possible surge of arctic air filtering down into the Great Lakes region and arriving just in time for our annual celebration and a few snowflakes certainly can’t be ruled out.
