Snow and rain forecast to hit US north-east for Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving Day storm is forecast to bring rain and potentially snow across the eastern half of the US, including to parts of New York.

The storm, which is predicted to bring snow to California’s Sierra Nevada early this week, is set to make its way to the north-east. As it travels further east, it is likely to strengthen after gathering more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and eventually the Atlantic, according to AccuWeather.

Bernie Rayno, AccuWeather’s chief on-air meteorologist, suggested two scenarios and said: “A weaker storm will tend to skip out more to the east with intermittent rain and little to no snow over the Appalachians.

“But a stronger storm would tend to track farther to the north, with somewhat heavier precipitation and a zone of accumulating snow, most likely from the central Appalachians to interior New England.”

Rain and strong winds are expected in New York City, potentially disrupting the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. But snow is unlikely to hit the parade as of Monday projections, with potential snow anticipated far north and west of New York City.

It’s too soon to tell whether the winds will be powerful enough to affect the flying of the parade’s iconic balloons. If they are, it would be only the second time in history after strong winds kept balloons grounded in 1971, with 2019 coming close.

Either way, it’s a good idea for those with plans to attend the parade to bring an umbrella and a warm coat, as temperatures will be in the 40s (F) throughout the day.

But it’s not just the parade’s plans that are up in the air. These early rounds of winter weather could have a significant impact on holiday traveling. However, for an area recently hit by wildfires due to drought conditions, the heavy rain could provide a silver lining for the north-east.