Weekly Weather Watch: Monday, November 20th, 2023
Thanksgiving or delaysgiving as the case may be this year. A couple of storm systems will spread impact to travelers later this week, followed by a strong push of cold temperatures to cover a large portion of the U.S. by the weekend. Here are your weather headlines for the week ahead. Before Thanksgiving, active weather will hit the Eastern U.S., while quieter weather returns to the West. Severe thunderstorms are possible across the Central Gulf Coastal region before heavy precipitation moves east. From Thanksgiving through the weekend, sharply colder weather spreads across the country, with a freeze possible as far south as Southern Texas.
Got the time? Sure do; here’s a timeline animation that shows areas of rain and snow across the nation during the next ten days.
The early frames of that animation show rainfall for the south tonight through Tuesday. Part of that may come from damaging thunderstorms; there’s a risk of severe weather here.
Do you like your turkey moist or dry? Well, many of us have a soggy outlook during the next week. Total precipitation is shown here. Total precipitation exceeds three inches for parts of the East.
Take is snow…err…slow. Travelers in the Rockies and nearby high plains will have periods of heavy snowfall later this week to slow the drive.
Much of that snow will come late Thanksgiving through Friday into Saturday. Cold temperatures are driving that snow chance as far south as West Texas. In terms of cold, look at how many of us have high odds of hitting freezing or colder during the week:
The cold will focus primarily on the Eastern U.S. next week, but I’ll have more on that in the next Weekly Weather Watch. Have a safe and Blessed Thanksgiving! - Matt
The weather pattern is about to make a pretty sharp turn across the country. California starts the week with unusual October heat, including highs well into the 90s and even lower 100s in the Central Valley. Meanwhile, much cooler fall air has reached the Great Lakes and Northeast. The Gulf Coast and Southeast stay unsettled, and there’s that record to watch: a tropical depression is likely to develop over the Gulf this week and could strengthen as it moves northeast. If it becomes a hurricane after the 8th, 2026 will have the latest-first hurricane in the Atlantic Basin record.