Despite hype, Thanksgiving week quiet for the Finger Lakes and beyond

Weather Hype Falls Flat

It should not be a big surprise to anyone here, but the much-ballyhooed weather hype for Thanksgiving week will fizzle to nothing as the region experiences one of its quieter November weeks.

A band of lake effect snow off of Lake Ontario in the Syracuse area will move north and dissipate this morning as winds turn into the west and then south.

During this wind shift, Lake Erie will send some snow showers through the Finger Lakes during the later morning and afternoon hours. With temperatures in the upper 30s, no snow accumulation is expected.

A little sun may work out between snow showers. Winds will remain gusty, but should not be quite as strong as they were on Sunday.

South winds and some partial sunshine will boost temperatures into the low 50s on Tuesday.

The south winds will be ahead of a cold front that will swing through on Wednesday. This front will bring some rain in early in the morning with a few scattered snow showers for the daytime hours Wednesday.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday both look quiet with a mix of clouds and some sun. High temperatures Thursday will be in the upper 30s with mid and upper 40s on Friday.

Northeast US, Great Lakes Travel Weather

The quiet weather will not be limited to just the Finger Lakes region, which is good news for the Thanksgiving Holiday travel.

Travel conditions will generally be dry and clear on Monday and Tuesday, except for I-81 between Syracuse and Watertown Monday morning. There, lake effect snow will cause some travel slowdowns, but these should clear up by midday.

Wednesday will see some rain and snow throughout the Northeast, but most of the precipitation should be light and earlier in the day. No significant travel problems are anticipated.

Right along the East Coast, some heavier rain may be possible on Wednesday, but again, this should mostly be in the morning. Heading west though, precipitation should mostly be cleared out before the sun is up Wednesday morning.

The entire region looks dry and clear of any travel issues on Thanksgiving Day and on Friday.

By the weekend, another front will move through with some generally light precipitation on Saturday. Some areas of lake effect snow will be possible on Sunday, which could impact I-90 between the Finger Lakes and about Cleveland, but it remains too early to tell how that will unfold.

Elsewhere in the United States, quiet weather will dominate, which should make travel by airplane smooth across the nation, at least as far as the weather is concerned.

The one exception may be flying into Seattle or Portland on Thanksgiving day, when some rain may cause some delays.