MACON, Ga. — While our 13WMAZ Weather Team is nailing down the forecast for this upcoming Thanksgiving, it may have you curious about what the weather is normally like on Thanksgiving.
We're taking a look at Thanksgiving Day climatology on this week's Weather IQ.
Because Thanksgiving Day is always on the fourth Thursday of November, it does not always fall on the same day. To get average temperatures for Thanksgiving Day and an idea of the average rainfall, the National Weather Service averaged the temperatures for every Thanksgiving Day since weather observations began and came up with an average almanac.
They found the average high temperature to be 66 degrees, and the average low temperature to be 41 degrees.
The record high temperature, set in 1985, was 80 degrees here in Macon, and the record low temperature was 21 degrees. In terms of rainfall, they recorded the record in 1983 when 2.98 inches of rain fell.
So even though we could be seeing 70s for this Thanksgiving, that’s certainly not as bad as Thanksgiving Day in 1985.
Observing the past 10 years alone, you’ll notice we’ve had several years with high temperatures in the 70s.
In fact, 6 out of the last 10 years have had high temperatures above the average of 66 degrees.
So while our high temperature may not be so rare this year, our potential for rainfall could be a bit more unique.
Out of the last 10 years we have only had 2 years with rainfall, and neither year had a majorly impressive rainfall totals.
So, I don’t know about you, but I'd take our forecast over record 80-degree Thanksgivings any day. Even though we could be looking at a slightly warm and rainy Thanksgiving Day, there's still some cooler temps to look forward to on the 7-day.
And from our 13WMAZ Weather Team to you and your family at home, Happy Thanksgiving!