Thanksgiving weekend looks cold and snowy for northern Ohio

CLEVELAND - Last week, I wrote about the potential for a cold and snowy Thanksgiving weekend. So, I thought I would update everyone with the latest preliminary forecast for that big weekend for turkey and travel.

Computer forecasts are still suggesting a surge of cold air invading the Great Lakes, including Northeast Ohio late Thanksgiving Day or early on Black Friday. The details of this are important as you make your holiday travel plans.

First of all, the cool down would likely be proceeded by a warm-up to begin next week across Ohio, Midwest and Northeast states. Right now, temperatures in the 50s would not be a surprise beginning Sunday or Monday of next week and lingering into Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.

Forecasts are hinting at another East Coast storm developing along the Carolina coastline Wednesday. This storm would shift northward into New Jersey, New York and New England during Thanksgiving Day. While not as powerful as Sandy or Son of Sandy, the latest Nor'easter could easily slow down travel to the major East Coast hubs, with a mixture of rain and wind along the coast, and snow inland.

Northern Ohio will likely experience colder air arriving late on Thanksgiving Day. Rain showers would likely accompany any cold front on Thursday. Then Lake Effect snow would likely develop on cold northerly winds just in time for Black Friday. The cold weather and scattered lake snows would then linger into at least Saturday.

This system is still a long way out. Fine details won't be known for several more days. But, the trend for colder weather for all of us in time for our turkey dinner appears very possible.

The reason I am writing about this now? As many of you know, we are back to 1950s type ocean patterns. I remember vividly, my grandmother telling me stories about some big November snow events from that decade, including the great Thanksgiving Day snowstorm of 1950. That's when Army tanks were dispatched to pick up hospital and communications workers from their snowed-in homes across northern Ohio.

That, of course, was a major low pressure area that affected the entire state.

Not saying that will happen this year, but Mother Nature liked late-November snows in the 1950s, and current weather patterns are very similar. So, stay tuned. We'll keep a close eye on winter in the coming days.