Satellite Sees a Decent Pre-Thanksgiving Travel Day in Much of the U.S.

Imagery from two of NOAA's GOES satellites revealed that pre-Thanksgiving travel in the U.S. will be relatively calm, weather-wise. High pressure in the eastern half of the country guarantees dry conditions from Maine to the Gulf coast, while an area of low pressure is bringing snow and rain to the Pacific Northwest.

A visible image of the U.S. was captured combining visible imagery from NOAA's GOES-13 and GOES-15 satellites that cover the eastern and western U.S., respectively. The image was created at 1445 UTC (9:45 a.m. EST) on Nov. 21, 2012 at the NASA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The combination image showed that the only active weather area is in the Pacific Northwest.

On Wed. Nov. 21, low pressure located over eastern Oregon is bringing heavy snows along the Cascade Mountain Range. The area of low pressure is evident by an area of clouds over the region. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect on Nov. 21 for Sawtooth Mountains and Big and the Little Wood River Region. According to the warning from National Weather Service in Pocatello, Idaho, those areas are expected to face additional snow accumulation of 6 to 8 inches above 7,500 feet and winds of 15 to 30 mph with higher gusts that will create areas of blowing and drifting snow. In addition, a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the West Glacier Region, the Lower Clark Fork Region, Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountain.

National Weather Service expects the moisture in the northwestern Pacific to come to an end by early Thanksgiving Day, however, another system is approaching the Pacific coast and will bring rain back to the region.

In the southern Rocky Mountains and western Texas, a short-wave of energy will trigger some scattered precipitation today, Nov. 21. That energy is expected to move northeastward into the middle Mississippi Valley on Thanksgiving night, bringing a chance for showers. Snow showers are possible on Thanksgiving night along Minnesota and North Dakota from a low pressure area over the Great Lakes region. Clouds associated with the Great Lakes low are visible in today's GOES image.

Credit: NASA GOES Project

Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center