National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Here are some Thanksgiving Day/Week Weather Stats from Thanksgivings-past. Looking back at the NWS Marquette Office records, 2005 was the snowiest Thanksgiving of the past 12 years, with 8.8 inches. It was also the coldest Thanksgiving over the past 12 years, with a maximum temperature of 18F.

Thanksgiving Day over the Past 12 Years: At NWS Marquette

Year	Daily Snowfall (in)	Snow Depth (in)	Maximum Temp (F)	Date of Thanksgiving
2011	0	3	47	11/24
2010	2.7	3	33	11/25
2009	0.5	0	39	11/26
2008	0.9	7	30	11/27
2007	1.1	1	25	11/22
2006	0	0	52	11/23
2005	8.8	13	18	11/24
2004	0.5	T	27	11/25
2003	1.7	1	37	11/27
2002	0	9	29	11/28
2001	0	0	44	11/22
2000	T	3	23	11/23

T= Trace amount of snowfall

 

 Though 2005 was the snowiest Thanksgiving day (in 12 years), what was the snowiest Thanksgiving Week (November 22nd-28th)? In 1991, there was a Thanksgiving week where 35.9 inches of snow fell!

 

Snowiest Thanksgiving Week At NWS Marquette (November 22nd-November 28th)

Year	Week total Snowfall (in)	Actual TG Day SF Amount (in)	TG Date
1991	35.9	0.2	11/28
2001	33.1	0	11/22
2005	17.2	8.8	11/24
1966	16.0	0.0	11/24
2002	15.6	0.0	11/28

TG=Thanksgiving, SF=Snowfall

 

A Look at Thanksgiving 2005:

Here is data at NWS Marquette from that week:

                   November 23, 2005: 5.3 inches of snow    Max T: 30  Min T: 7

            *November 24, 2005: 8.8 inches of snow    Max T: 18   Min T: 1

             November 25, 2005: 2.2 inches of snow    Max T: 20  Min T: -4

*Thanksgiving day

 What led to all of the snowfall and colder temperatures?

As is seen in the weather maps below (courtesy of "The Daily Weather Map" from HPC) a low pressure system crossed Upper Michigan. This brought more of a "system snow" the night before Thanksgiving, with abundant moisture and lift available to generate precipitation. Once the low began to exit the Upper Great Lakes by early Thanksgiving morning, cold artic air shot across Lake Superior, generating lake effect snow showers. In addition to the heavy snowfall, tight pressure gradients caused winds to gust in the 35-55 mph range, leading to a "storm force wind" warning on Lake Superior, and wind advisories across parts of Upper Michigan. The winds, coupled with heavy lake effect snow, also led to Blizzard Warnings for areas near Lake Superior.

 

Top Map: Weather Map from 11/23/2005 at 7 AM EST (night before Thanksgiving).

 

Above: Weather Map from 11/24/2012 (Thanksgiving Day) at 7 A.M E.S.T

Above: Weather map from 11/25/2005 at 7 A.M. EST (day after Thanksgiving).

Below are precipitation images over each 24 hour period:

 

Above: 24 hour period from 7 am 11/23-7 am 11/24.

 

Above: Precipitation from 7 am 11/24-7 am 11/25

Above: Precipitation from 7 am 11/24 to 7 am 11/25

Here are some reports for this storm (11/25/2005)

Keep tuned to our website for the latest forecasts leading up to Thanksgiving Day!

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