As millions of Americans hit the highways and skies next week for Thanksgiving, colder air will be sweeping into the eastern part of the nation and will cause an area of travel troubles around the Great Lakes.
The Thanksgiving week cold push could be a precursor to what lies ahead for December.
Colder air, more appropriate for late November, will first roll into the northern Plains and then will sweep into the East and South.
The push of colder air will have shock value in that it would follow what has been an unusually warm first half of November for much of the nation.
For many people, it will mean winter coat weather instead of a light jacket or sweatshirt.
The arrival of the cold air around the Great Lakes will cause a lake-effect snow event. Hence, our award for the worst weather next week.
The lake-effect event will be ramping up Wednesday over the central Great Lakes and will spread to the eastern Great Lakes and into the northern Appalachians Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.
Enough snow will fall to shovel, plow and slow travel in isolated areas, typical of lake-effect snow events.
AccuWeather.com Long Range Expert Joe Bastardi is expecting a colder-than-average December for the eastern two-thirds of the nation.
After in-and-out cold air into the first week of December, winter cold may lock and load beginning during the second week of the month.
