Rainy weather is coming ahead of a cold, windy Thanksgiving

If you’re heading to grandma’s house ahead of Thanksgiving this week, you might want to pack an umbrella — but other than that, it looks like relatively smooth sailing for Turkey Day.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service station in Mount Holly predict a period of rainy weather ahead of the holiday, with a warm, wet Tuesday and Wednesday giving way to a dry, breezy Thursday. The weekend, meanwhile, looks to be colder, with some potential rainfall Sunday, but no severe weather appears to be on tap, weather service meteorologist Nick Guzzo said.

“It looks to be just some rain and a possible isolated rumble of thunder,” Guzzo said.

Showers are expected to arrive in the Philadelphia region Tuesday afternoon, bringing periodic bouts of rain that will stick around through Wednesday, producing around a half-inch of rain, the weather service estimates. Forecasters do not expect any severe weather, but local rainfall totals could hit up to an inch in some areas, and some thunder in the morning is possible.

Along with the wet weather comes a warm front resulting in milder temperatures likely nearing 60 degrees that will continue through Wednesday evening.

By late Wednesday, forecasters predict, a cold front is likely to move in, dropping temperatures and drying out the rain. By Thanksgiving morning, high temperatures are expected to reach only the 40s, with breezy weather throughout the day that will likely bring wind chills in the 30s.

Thursday’s windy weather could bring gusts around 30 mph, Guzzo said. Representatives for Philadelphia’s Thanksgiving Day parade said they were keeping a close eye on the weather and anticipate the balloons will fly.

“But should the weather not cooperate, we have contingency plans in place,” said Mike Monsell, spokesperson for parade sponsor 6abc.

Balloons in Philly’s Thanksgiving parade were last grounded due to high winds in 2019 — though wind gusts that year reached high speeds of up to 50 mph. Before that, the parade’s balloons had not been grounded since 1997, when similarly high winds kicked up on Thanksgiving Day.

Friday and Saturday are expected to bring a preview of winter weather with morning lows in the upper 20s — roughly 4 to 6 degrees below average for this time of year. That is thanks to the cold front moving through the area, Guzzo said, which will keep highs in the low to mid-40s.

As for weekend rain, Saturday looks dry, but as milder conditions take hold, there is a slight chance of rain Sunday to close out the weekend.