Black Friday Forecast: Storm May Pester Shoppers From Texas to Michigan

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

November 25,2015; 9:17PM,EST

 

 

Wet weather will stretch from Texas to Michigan and could slow travel and impact shoppers during Thanksgiving night and Black Friday.
Dry weather is forecast to hold in the East and expand over much of the West, while a storm affects a large part of the Central states.
JUMP TO: Storm to Drench Central US; Ice to Coat Parts of Plains | Sunny Skies to Continue, Warmth to Build in East | Dry, Chilly Air to Grip West

Storm to Drench Central US; Ice to Coat Parts of Plains
Shoppers and those maintaining a vigil for first crack at bargains in Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit will likely face soaking rain from Thanksgiving night through part or all of Friday.
Low cloud ceilings, areas of fog and downpours could cause airline delays and force motorists to slow down.
The rain can be heavy enough to cause localized urban flooding.

Shoppers in Cleveland; Buffalo, New York; and Nashville may get through Friday morning with nothing more than spotty showers before steadier rain arrives in the afternoon.
In most cases, the rain will end before the air gets cold enough for snow or ice. However, there will be some exceptions associated with black ice.
Slippery roads and sidewalks are possible due to the potential for freezing rain, drizzle and sleet in a swath from northeastern New Mexico to southeastern Iowa.
Cities that could experience slippery conditions Thursday night into Friday include Amarillo, Texas; Wichita, Dodge City and Topeka, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; and Des Moines, Iowa.

Before heading out to your favorite retailer this year, take a look at the AccuWeather MinuteCast® for a minute-by-minute forecast of precipitation type and intensity for your exact location.

The icy conditions can also develop as falling temperatures cause wet areas to freeze in the wake of prior rain or wet snow.
Thursday night and Friday morning, shoppers in the Minneapolis area may have to slip and slide through slush and ice in the wake of the Thanksgiving Day snow.
Another area where a bit of snow or a freeze-up can occur is in parts of northern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin.
Farther west in the northern tier states, dry and chilly weather is in store across the Dakotas and northwestern Minnesota.
Sunny Skies to Continue, Warmth to Build in East
High pressure will extend a swath of sunshine from Maine to Georgia and much of Florida and Louisiana.
Following a chilly start to the week, warmth will build at midweek and hold through late week across much of the eastern third of the nation.
Unless shoppers plan on waiting in lines during the early morning chill, they may be able to leave their coat in the car. Afternoon temperatures will rebound to the 50s F near the Canada border, the 60s in much of the mid-Atlantic and near 70 over the interior South.
RELATED:
Check AccuWeather MinuteCast® for Your Location
National Interactive Radar
Black Friday: Will Wintry Weather Put a Dent in Sales This Year?
The only exceptions to dry and sunny conditions will be in the southern and eastern counties of the Florida Peninsula, where clouds and spotty showers are in the offing.
The weather should not interfere with shopping plans in Boston; New York City; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Pittsburgh; Atlanta; New Orleans; Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; and Richmond, Virginia.
Dry, Chilly Air to Grip West
In the wake of the storm set to produce snow from the coastal Northwest to the Rockies during the first half of the week, a spell of mainly dry and chilly weather will expand over the West to end the week.
Shoppers and travelers in the cities of Seattle; San Francisco; Los Angeles; San Diego; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Pendleton, Oregon; and Boise, Idaho; can expect dry conditions. However, early morning shoppers may want to bring along a coat as temperatures will average 10 to 20 degrees below normal.

A few pockets of heavy snow will remain over parts of ski country in the Sierra Nevada, Wasatch, Colorado Rockies and San Juan Mountains.
The storm responsible for snow on Thanksgiving Day in Denver will continue Thursday night and into Friday. Shoppers will need to exercise caution when heading out to plazas and malls.
Motorists and pedestrians in Salt Lake City should be on the lookout for patches of ice, where snowfall from the midweek storm will melt and freeze.