Will Wichita get winter weather in time for Thanksgiving? Check out the holiday forecast

While snow on Thanksgiving Day in Wichita isn’t unheard of, those hopeful for true winter weather may be disappointed this year.

Thanksgiving is Thursday, and after warmer weather last week and a wet Sunday and Monday, the National Weather Service is expecting more seasonal temperatures for the week ahead.

Here’s what to know about the weather on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, so you can make your holiday plans accordingly.

What’s the forecast for Thanksgiving Day?

According to the NWS, Thanksgiving Day in Wichita is expected to be mostly sunny with a high around 54 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Right now it’s looking like a quiet weather day for us,” Chris Jakub, forecaster for the NWS Wichita office, said.

Thanksgiving night is expected to get to a low of 29 degrees.

As for precipitation, the holiday is looking like it’ll be dry, and the same is true for the rest of the week.

Here’s a quick look at Wichita’s weather for other days this week, according to the NWS:

• Tuesday is expected to be windy with a high of 49 degrees during the day and a low of 27 degrees at night.

• Wednesday is looking sunny with a high of 54 degrees in the day and low of 31 degrees at night.

• Friday is expected to be mostly cloudy with a high of 39 degrees during the day and low of 23 degrees at night.

• Saturday is expected to be sunny during the day with a high of 41 degrees and partly cloudy at night with a low of 24 degrees.

Fall weather in Wichita

Jakub said overall, temperatures have been above normal the last couple weeks compared to previous fall seasons.

“I know we’ve been above normal the past couple weeks, definitely more mild than what we’d normally experience,” Jakub said.

But looking at the three-month seasonal outlook, Jakub said temperatures look normal.

“Just kind of looking through winter .... kind of looking for near-normal temperatures,” the forecaster said.

The transition to an El Niño weather pattern could also mean a more wet and snowy winter in the Wichita area, a NWS forecaster previously told the Eagle.

El Niño occurs when warm water moves east toward the west coast of the Americas, causing the Pacific jet stream to move south due to the warmer waters.

When will Wichita get its first snow?

While it doesn’t look like we’ll see a snowy Thanksgiving in Wichita this year, it might not be a very long wait until we do see snow for the first time this winter season.

According to the NWS, while the earliest snow on record fell in October in 2018, the usual first measurable snow falls in Wichita, on average, Dec. 3. This date is the average from agency data recorded from 1991 to 2020.

The average last snow usually falls in early March.

Last year, the first snowfall of the season was reported Nov. 5.