Brisk, clear week in store for Bay Area, most of Lake Tahoe as Thanksgiving travel season begins
Off the heels of a rainy weekend in the Bay Area , forecasts for Thanksgiving week painted a much more pleasant picture, while travelers to the East Coast may endure delays caused by more stormy weather.
National Weather Service predictions across the region for the entire week were modest and mild. Highs ranged from the mid 70s on Tuesday to the mid 60s by Friday but the drop in temperatures was expected to be a slow progression throughout the week, with nothing but sunshine for the Bay Area’s numerous inevitable visitors in time for Turkey Day.
As of Monday morning, Thanksgiving Day forecasts showed 69 degrees in San Jose, 68 in Oakland, 64 in San Francisco, 69 in Palo Alto, 67 in Livermore, 69 in Concord and 66 in Santa Cruz.
“We’re looking at continued dry weather through the holiday week,” said NWS meteorologist Rick Canepa. “The only potential impacts could be sort of a renewed northerly wind flow going into the weekend.”
A NWS wind advisory, which saw winds as brisk as 50 miles per hour in isolated gusts, expired Monday morning. While current projections didn’t see wind speeds quite reaching that level heading into Friday, it’s possible that the forecasts will sharpen to a higher level by Thanksgiving Day.
“Initially right now it doesn’t look to be as strong (as this past weekend),” he said. “It may be a little less intense in terms of offshore winds, but we’ll monitor it.”
Bay Area residents looking to escape to the Sierra Nevada for the weekend should expect a similarly pleasant time.
NWS Reno meteorologist Brittany Whitlam said the outlook for the Lake Tahoe area around the holiday was expected to be dry, with a high-pressure system on its way as of Monday morning. High temperatures in South Lake Tahoe were expected to reach 58 on Wednesday, 50 on Thursday and 45 on Friday, with mostly sunny skies in the forecast.
“It’s actually going to be pretty pleasant by Wednesday with higher temperatures than normal,” Whitlam said, adding that road conditions shouldn’t offer travelers much trouble. “We’re looking at like a 15-20% chance of showers but anything that does fall should be pretty light.”
Weather conditions look all gravy for travel leading up to Thanksgiving Day! Conditions will remain dry with a gradual warming trend through mid-week. A cold front will bring slight chances for showers and increasing northerly winds Thanksgiving Day. #cawx #nvwx pic.twitter.com/zin6rN1ARt— NWS Reno November 19, 2023
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For Bay Area travelers heading elsewhere throughout the country, no severe weather was expected as of Monday morning but some rainfall could persist in the Pacific Northwest, the Deep South and parts of the Northeast.
“(On the East coast) they’ve got the low (pressure system) that we had that finally moved through Friday night and Saturday,” Canepa said.
