Madison, Wisconsin

... First snow of the season taking aim on Thanksgiving Holiday...

A complex weather situation is shaping up for Wednesday night
into early Thanksgiving day. The first of two low pressure systems
will bring rain to southern Wisconsin tonight.

A second and colder low pressure area is expected to move from
South Dakota into Iowa Wednesday and across northern Illinois into
Northwest Indiana Wednesday night. A cold rain or wet snow should
develop Wednesday evening with the precipitation gradually
changing to all snow Wednesday night from west to east. The rain
may not change completely over to snow along the Lake Michigan
shore until well after midnight Thursday or perhaps as late as
daybreak Thanksgiving.

Snow accumulations will be tricky. Temperatures will start in the
upper 30s and gradually cool into the lower 30s as the rain
changes to wet snow. At first... much of the snow will melt as it falls
on warm ground. However.. a small area... perhaps just a few
counties... may pick up 3 to 4 inches or more of snow. Present
indications are that the most snow should accumulate south and
west of a line from the Wisconsin Dells to Waukesha to Burlington.

Elsewhere... an inch or two of slushy snow is possible... mainly on
grassy areas. Because much of the snow should fall at
night... slushy and slippery roads are certainly possible Wednesday
night into Thanksgiving morning.

Stay tuned for later updates as there is a great deal of
uncertainty in this forecast.

... Thanksgiving day facts for Milwaukee and Madison...

Here are some Thanksgiving day facts for milwaukee:

Records show that there has been at least a trace of snow on the
ground on 36 Thanksgiving days... 30 percent of the time... over the
120 year period of snow depth records.

Data for Thanksgiving day over the past 10 years are shown below...

                                      snow snow on
year high low prec. Fall the ground
                                            [whole inches]

Nov. 27... 2008 42 18 0.00 0.0 T
Nov. 22... 2007 32 25 0.01 0.1 1
Nov. 23... 2006 52 31 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 24... 2005 34 13 T 0.1 0
Nov. 25... 2004 39 23 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 27... 2003 43 33 0.01 0.0 0
Nov. 28... 2002 37 19 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 22... 2001 55 34 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 23... 2000 34 21 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 25... 1999 47 28 0.00 0.0 0


Normal high temperature... ..40 degrees
normal low temperature... ... 26 degrees
warmest Thanksgiving day... .65 in 1914 on Nov. 26th.
Coldest Thanksgiving day... .-4 in 1950 on Nov. 23rd.
Highest minimum... ... ... ... .56 in 1896 on Nov. 26th.
Lowest maximum temperature..12 in 1872 on Nov. 28th. 13 above in 1930

Only one other below zero minimum temperature was recorded on a
Thanksgiving day... -2 in 1872.

Out of 133 years... number of days with maximum temperature...

Zero or below... ... ... ..0 0 percent.
1 to 9 above... ... ... ... 0 0 percent.
10 to 19 degrees... ... ..5 4 percent.
20 to 29 degrees... ... .17 13 percent.
30 to 39 degrees... ... .44 33 percent.
40 to 49 degrees... ... .49 37 percent.
50 to 59 degrees... ... .15 11 percent.
60 or higher... ... ... ... 3 2 percent.

The most snowfall on a Thanksgiving day was 3.5 inches in 1947.
The most snow depth on a Thanksgiving day... ..7 inches in 1895.
Wettest Thanksgiving day... ... ... ... ... ... .0.98 inches in 1968.

Other Thanksgiving day weather facts...

Number of days with...

Measurable precipitation... ... ... ... ... ..53 out of 132... 40 percent.
At least a trace of snowfall... ... ... ... .45 out of 118... 38 percent.
Measurable snowfall[.1 inch or more]... ..21 out of 118... 18 percent.
Snowfall of 1 inch or more... ... ... ... ... 10 out of 118... 8 percent.
1 inch or more snow on the ground... ... ..15 out of 118... 13 percent.

Wind data...

Highest average wind speed... 23.0 mph in 1956.

Peak wind gust... 43 mph from the southwest in 1983... 43 mph from
the west in 1956.

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Here are some Thanksgiving day facts for madison:

Records show that there has been at least a trace of snow on the
ground on 46 Thanksgiving days... 41 percent of the time... over the
111 year period of snow depth records.

Data for Thanksgiving day over the past 10 years are shown below...

                                      snow snow on
year high low prec. Fall the ground
                                            [whole inches]

Nov. 27... 2008 43 17 0.00 0.0 1
Nov. 22... 2007 30 21 T T T
Nov. 23... 2006 58 29 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 24... 2005 34 12 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 25... 2004 39 17 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 27... 2003 46 30 T 0.0 0
Nov. 28... 2002 37 19 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 22... 2001 53 36 0.00 0.0 0
Nov. 23... 2000 33 17 0.00 0.0 T
Nov. 25... 1999 46 27 0.00 0.0 0

Normal high temperature... ..37 degrees
normal low temperature... ... 23 degrees
warmest Thanksgiving day... .64 in 1914 on November 26th.
Coldest Thanksgiving day... .-5 in 1950 on November 23rd... and -5 in
1872 on November 28th. [The only below zero minimums on thanksgiving]
highest minimum... ... ... ... .52 in 1896.
Lowest maximum temperature... 3 above zero in 1872.

Out of 133 years... number of days with maximum temperature...

Zero or below... ... ... ..0 0 percent.
1 to 9 above... ... ... ... 1 1 percent.
10 to 19 degrees... ... ..7 5 percent.
20 to 29 degrees... ... .24 18 percent.
30 to 39 degrees... ... .58 44 percent.
40 to 49 degrees... ... .29 22 percent.
50 to 59 degrees... ... .12 9 percent.
60 or higher... ... ... ... 2 2 percent.

The most snowfall on a Thanksgiving day was 3.3 inches in 1887.
The most snow depth on a Thanksgiving day... ..4 inches in 1975.
Wettest Thanksgiving day... ... ... ... ... ... .1.06 inches in 1879.

Other Thanksgiving day weather facts...

Number of days with...

Measurable precipitation... ... ... ... ... ..48 out of 133... 36 percent.
At least a trace of snowfall... ... ... ... .50 out of 133... 38 percent.
Measurable snowfall [.1 inch or more]... .25 out of 133... 19 percent.
Snowfall of 1 inch or more... ... ... ... ... 13 out of 133... 10 percent.
One inch or more snow on the ground... ... 12 out of 53... 23 percent.

Wind data...

Highest average wind speed... 19.9 mph in 1956.

Peak wind gust... 35 mph from the southwest in 1990 and 1984.