Thanksgiving Day will be sunny and blustery, with temperatures only reaching the lower 20s in the Boston area, and gusty winds that will make it feel like it’s much colder. The cold has led some communities to shift their traditonal Turkey Bowl games to Wednesday.
A wind chill advisory has been issued for western Massachusetts for Thursday morning. The advisory will be in effect from 4 to 10 a.m. Thursday for portions of Franklin County, Hampshire County, and Hampden County, where wind chill values could drop to as low as 15 below zero.
“Frostbite and hypothermia can occur if precautions are not taken,” the weather service said. “Make sure you wear a hat and gloves.”
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Thursday night will be mostly clear and blustery, with lows in the teens, and some locations may set new records for cold temperatures on Thanksgiving, the weather service said.
The record low for Nov. 22 in Boston was 9 degrees (set in 1879) and the record minimum high was 24 degrees (in 1880). The record low for the Thanksgiving holiday in Boston was 11 degrees (set on Nov. 27, 1873) and the record minimum high was 24 degrees (on Nov. 28, 1901), according to the weather service.
The forecasted low temperatures for Thursday include 17 degrees in Boston, 9 degrees in Worcester, and 15 degrees in Providence, according to the National Weather Service.
Friday will be sunny, with a high near 30, forecasters said.
We should get some relief from the cold this weekend, as Saturday will be mostly sunny and not as cool, with highs in the mid 40s. Sunday will be mostly cloudy with a chance of rain, but temperatures in the Boston area could reach as high as 50 — which will feel downright balmy compared to the bitter cold that we’ve been experiencing lately.
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[Weather Briefing] An arctic cold front may bring a few very brief localized snow squalls between 3 and 8 pm this evening, resulting in the potential for hazardous travel. Record cold & bitterly cold wind chill of 0 to 15 below zero follow late tonight into Thanksgiving. pic.twitter.com/e1ebTs7cnn
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) November 21, 2018
[Tech Post] The bitter cold air for Wed night/Thanksgiving is extremely rare for this time of year. The light purple shading indicates the 850 mb temps to fall outside the climatological database of the model for this time of year. This means record breaking cold is a good bet. pic.twitter.com/pgSoDK6WHV
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) November 21, 2018
Danny McDonald of the Globe Staff contributed. Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilysweeney.