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Frigid, Blustery Weather on Tap for Thanksgiving 2018
11:00AM / Wednesday, November 21, 2018
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Mother Nature is preparing a one-two punch for the Thanksgiving holiday.
 
Intense snow squalls will move through the region Wednesday afternoon and wind-chill factors could make Thanksgiving Day one of the coldest on record. 
 
Snow squalls are currently moving across New York State and will enter the Berkshires around mid-afternoon. The National Weather Service is warning of "rapidly changing weather and road conditions" that could drop 1 to 2 inches in a matter of minutes. 
 
An advisory is out for Interstates 90 (MassPike), 87 and 88. The snow squalls can create zero visibility for drivers and temporary whiteout conditions. The roads may also be icy. Drivers are advised to use caution and keep headlights on. 
 
Many of the last few Thanksgivings have been shirt-sleeve weather but this year it will seem more like a January deep freeze thanks to arctic air moving in from the Great Lakes.  
 
Beginning at 1 a.m. Thursday and through noon, a wind chill advisory is in effect for the Berkshires and Southern Vermont. The bitter cold and wind could make it seem like 15 below!
 
Anyone planning on being outside Thursday should be dressed for severe winter weather. Wear hats and gloves because NWS is saying exposed skin could result in frostbite in less than 30 minutes. 
 
Accuweather says the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be buffeted by wind gusts up to 30 mph with temperatures feeling 10 to 20 degrees below zero. 
 
According to Accuweather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, most of the coldest Thanksgiving's have "occurred during the mid-1800s to near the turn of the 20th century." Barely a handful of Thanksgivings in New York City have been far below freezing temperatures. 
 
New York's recorded low is 15 degrees in 1871 and Boston's is 11 degrees in 1873. AccuWeather is predicting a low of 15 and a high of 24 in Boston on Thanksgiving Day. Albany, N.Y., records a low of 5 degrees in 1972 with the next lowest nearly a century earlier, 9 degrees on Nov. 30, 1876 (when Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday of November).
 
Black Friday will be less windy but not much warmer so make sure you're bundled up before heading out for bargain hunting. The weekend is shaping up to be a little warmer but another storm will hit the area sometime late Saturday into Sunday. 
 
 
 

 

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