It looks like mild, mostly sunny weather, with temperatures perhaps a bit above normal, will be the backdrop for Thanksgiving Day celebrations in Daytona Beach, Palm Coast, Volusia and Flagler counties, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service.
Although official daily forecasts for Thanksgiving Day and the holiday weekend are still coming into focus, an expected mid-week cold front will be the main force dictating the week’s weather, said Cassie Leahy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, on Thursday, Nov. 20.
“We only forecast out around 7 days,” Leahy said, “but for the holiday itself, it looks like temperatures will be in the upper 70s, maybe a few degrees above normal, but not too much.”
That would be good news for classic-car fans headed to the annual fall Turkey Run, the mammoth showcase for vintage vehicles running Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 27-30, at Daytona International Speedway.
The extended forecast for Thanksgiving also could include a few showers, along with light winds, she said.
“We are expecting a cold front to be dropping through portions of Florida through that time period. It’s still kind of far out, so that could change.”
On Friday, Nov. 28, the outlook now calls for potentially some more showers, depending on whether the front clears the area or lingers into the weekend, Leahy said. Temperatures on Friday also are expected to be in the upper 70s, she said.
Daytona Beach Thanksgiving weather influenced by two cold fronts
Models are in agreement that an initial weak cold front pushes through Sunday, Nov. 23, bringing a wind shift out of the north, little cooling and no rain, according to a forecast discussion posted by the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
The high pressure to the north will steadily move east over the Atlantic, resulting in a quick veering of wind flow to out of the southeast by Tuesday, Nov. 25, and south-southeast on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
That will keep temperatures above normal in the low to mid 80s, forecasters predict.
At the same time, forecasters can’t rule out the possibility of isolated showers pushing onshore from the Atlantic on Tuesday and Wednesday, but most areas are expected to remain dry.
The next cold front is forecast to approach around Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27, but there’s still great uncertainty about how quickly it approaches and where it initially stalls.
At this point, it’s looking like a mild to warm Thanksgiving with some small shower chances possible, according to the NWS
In Flagler, fog could be part of Thanksgiving celebrations
In Flagler, a similar scenario is expected to unfold, with the initial cold front expected to slowly pass through the county on Sunday, offering a potential for some sprinkles, but no significant rainfall, according to a forecast discussion posted by the National Weather Service in Jacksonville.
Only a slight cooldown is expected behind the frontal boundary, forecasters state.
Fog concerns, both land and sea, are likely to increase next week, according to the forecast discussion. There could be multiple days of sea fog as a multi-day period of warm, moist southerly flow develops ahead of a second cold front.
That front is forecast to pass through the county during the middle part of next week, potentially bringing a splash of rain to some areas.
Daytona Beach weather radar
Daytona Beach Thanksgiving week weather
Sunday, Nov. 23: Sunny, with a high near 79 and nighttime low around 65. West wind 5-10 mph becoming north-northeast in the afternoon.
Monday, Nov. 24: Sunny, with a high near 78 and nighttime low around 65. East northeast wind 5-10 mph.
Tuesday, Nov. 25: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80 and nighttime low around 65. East southeast wind 5-10 mph.
Wednesday, Nov. 26: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. South southwest wind 5-10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Palm Coast Thanksgiving week weather
Sunday, Nov. 23: Sunny, with a high near 77 and nighttime low around 67.
Monday, Nov. 24: Sunny, with a high near 75 and nighttime low around 65.
Tuesday, Nov. 25: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77 and nighttime low around 67.
Wednesday, Nov. 26: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Will Thanksgiving weather in Daytona, surrounding area bring sunshine or rain?
Reporting by Jim Abbott, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
