Bitterly Cold Thanksgiving on the Table for Northeast

A freezing Thanksgiving could follow back-to-back snowstorms for millions across the Northeast.

The latest snowstorm created messy road conditions Tuesday across much of New England, and the wintry outlook continues throughout the week. The forecast calls for snowsqualls Wednesday, the busiest travel day of the year, and extreme cold and blustery conditions on Thanksgiving Day.

By Thanksgiving, highs will be in the teens, with subzero wind chills, across northern New England.

It may be the coldest Thanksgiving on record in New York City, with temperatures in the 20s and winds gusting as high as 35 mph, according to the National Weather Service. That may hamper the balloons in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which aren’t permitted to fly if the wind gusts are more than 35 mph. The last time the balloons were grounded was in 1971.

“Thanksgiving morning is going to hurt,” tweeted weather watcher Mike Haggett in Maine.

On Tuesday, snow continued to pile up on top of leaves that many people hadn’t finished raking throughout the region. Up to six inches of snow was expected across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and parts of Massachusetts.

The snowstorm will be followed by brief but powerful snowsqualls Wednesday across a wide swath of the Northeast, causing the potential for isolated travel problems as people head to their Thanksgiving destinations, according to NWS meteorologist Andy Pohl.

Then the temperatures will plummet, paving the way for potential record cold on Thanksgiving day, Pohl said.