Thanksgiving weather: Rain and snow could bring travel problems to the Northeast

On Thursday morning, rain will fall across the Northeast, setting up what is bound to be a soft Thanksgiving for dozens of states.

The outlook for both the New York and Philadelphia Thanksgiving parades is headed for periods of rain and drizzle with temperatures in the 40s and a cool breeze of 10-25 mph.

For most of the major cities along I-95 in the Northeast, this will be a rain storm, but wet snow will mix further inland.

Winter warnings are being issued from northern Pennsylvania to Maine, with the possibility of up to a foot of snow in the higher elevations today.

Time it out

For cities like DC, Philly, and NYC, this will primarily be a morning rain event, with some slow improvement expected later today.

Precipitation should gradually taper off by mid-day in the Mid-Atlantic, with Philadelphia likely to see it end around noon.

New York City can hold off on the rain until about 2 p.m., while Boston sees an end to the rain closer to sunset around 17.00

Parts of northern New England, especially Maine, will experience rain and snow overnight before conditions improve.

After this storm moves out, the coldest air of the season will fill much of the country.

Due to the cold air passing over the relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, several Lake Effect Snow Warnings and Winter Storm Watches are in effect. This looks like the first significant Lake Effect Snow event of the season.

The forecast calls for 3 to 4 feet of snow through Monday for parts of western New York State.

The heaviest bands of snow will likely be south of Buffalo, but things could get interesting at Sunday night’s 49ers/Bills game with snow nearby.

For the rest of the country, the weather will remain mostly calm this weekend, but a chill is in the forecast for dozens of states in the eastern half of the country as temperatures begin to feel much more in line with the upcoming winter season.

In the west, warmer than normal temperatures are expected as we move through the first week of December.