Travelers trying to get an early start on the day before Thanksgiving should expect some rainy and blustery conditions on the roads before conditions clear out for a sunny Turkey Day.
After some parts of Massachusetts were under a “Winter Weather Advisory” for up to 4 inches of snow and slippery conditions Tuesday night, all areas of the Bay State will be dealing with periods of rain on Wednesday.
Fairly gusty winds are also in store for the busy travel day, with the strongest winds expected along Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Ann. Wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible, in addition to downed tree branches and isolated power outages.
“It will definitely be a rainy and blustery morning for those heading on out,” Torry Dooley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald.
“By the early afternoon, we’ll see improvements from west to east with rain showers coming to an end,” he added.
The “Winter Weather Advisory” Tuesday night was for parts of western Massachusetts in the higher terrains of the Berkshires and in Franklin and Hampshire counties.
Snow will begin after 7PM tonight across the high terrain of interior Massachusetts, yielding accumulations of 1-4" before transitioning to rain around daybreak Wednesday. Winds will pick up after sunrise Wednesday, with gusts to 50mph possible across the Cape and Islands. pic.twitter.com/0cM1jB9foj
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) November 21, 2023
Conditions should be clear for Thanksgiving, as the National Weather Service forecasts a mostly sunny and cool day. Football games in the morning will be cold in the 30s and 40s. By the early afternoon, it should be close to 50 degrees in most locations, ideal for backyard football games on the holiday.
Shoppers heading out for Black Friday should also enjoy some pretty quiet conditions. It will be colder than Thanksgiving, however, with high temps expected in the 40s.
Dooley said, “It’s definitely going to feel like that time of the year for all the holiday shopping.”