Thanksgiving Forecast: Skies clearing, temps dropping for Turkey Day

Hoping for good weather for traveling to see family and friends for Thanksgiving?

The good news is rain that passed through Northwest Georgia and provided some much needed rain – but also blew away what remained of the autumn leaves from many trees – and the bad news is the warm weather is gone.

Expect a cooldown and temps just below freezing overnight as Thanksgiving week wraps up for many on the clock on Wednesday, with highs in the 50s to low 60s throughout the region, and down into the upper 20s and low 30s overnight.

Rain that pushed out of the area and brought a cold front behind it on Tuesday night will bring clear skies for a few days before rain is set to potentially return for the latter half of the weekend and heading into December.

Thanksgiving will be in the 40s and 50s around the area as a high and down into the low to mid 20s overnight for the holiday, with clear skies.

Expect mostly cloudy skies for the busiest shopping day of the year on Black Friday and highs up into the 40s and down into the low 20s overnight, followed by Small Business Saturday with partly sunny skies as the day also marks rival weekend around the southeast.

Gameday temps will be in the 40s to low 50s around the region on Saturday. They’ll get down into the 30s overnight.

Chances of rain return by Saturday night, with potential for some flurries even in higher elevations with lower temps, but don’t expect that to stick or last.

Sunday brings even chances for showers and mostly cloudy skies, with a high into the 50s during the day, and rain remains with temps down into the 30s heading into early Monday morning.

December and the upcoming return to regular work during the holiday season begins with highs in the 50s, chances for rain and cloudy skies persisting. Expect more of the same through Tuesday and into the days that follow, with cloudy skies remaining through the middle of next week before chances of rain return on Friday and through the first weekend of the month.

Most of the nation should enjoy a clear Thanksgiving holiday, the only spots having to worry about potential for weather issues during one of the busiest holiday travel weeks of the year, with only the Pacific Northwest having to deal with rain and some snow in the upper Rockies, while the upper Midwest and around the Great Lakes having to deal with Lake Effect snow.

It will be colder across the country overall through the Thanksgiving holiday as arctic air dips southward.