NORFOLK, Va. — With cooler air in the forecast for Hampton Roads on Thursday, some folks have asked: does Norfolk ever get snow on Thanksgiving, and what are the chances of snow on this Thanksgiving?
The answer is yes, we've gotten a bit of snow in years past, but it is very rare.
But after looking more closely at the climatology for Norfolk Thanksgivings, here's what I found: since 1874, residents of Norfolk have never woken up on a Thanksgiving morning with snow on the ground.
In three cases, more than flurries were reported in Norfolk. Two of those days there were minor amounts, less than a tenth of an inch. The most snow to fall on a Thanksgiving day in Norfolk was half an inch back in 1912.
There have been a few other times when light flurries flew, but nothing stuck.
What we typically see on Thanksgiving in Norfolk can range widely. Highs are typically in the 50s and 60s with the average being 58°. Low temperatures most years dip into the 30s and 40s. The average low is 40°.
The record high of 80° was reached in 1985, and back in 1892, we hit a record low of 25° on Thanksgiving.
While we rarely see snow, rain is a different story.
Rain falls on roughly 30% of Thanksgivings in Norfolk. The average amount of precipitation is .11", but in 1992 1.77" fell setting the record for the holiday.
This year we are not expecting snow (or rain for that matter). Rain will develop Tuesday and continue Tuesday night into early Wednesday. Thanksgiving will turn cooler and skies should be mostly sunny.
The 13News Now weather team will be working to keep you updated on the forecast and on the travel conditions throughout the holiday weekend.