Thanksgiving Weather History/Extremes for Grand Island, NE (1895-2024)

Since 1942, Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, thus ranging in date from the 22nd-28th (prior to 1942, it was often observed on the last Thursday of November).

As is typical of the late-fall season in south central Nebraska, Thanksgiving weather conditions can vary dramatically from one year to the next. Just in the last 30 years, high temperatures in Grand Island have ranged from 31° to 72°, and lows have ranged from 6° to 39°! This story features a wealth of Thanksgiving weather and climate information focused specifically on Grand Island, where November records date back 130 years to 1895.

Temperatures: According to the entire period of record, the warmest Thanksgiving occurred eight years ago in 2017 with a balmy high of 72°, while the coldest low temperature was a frigid -2° in 1938. Only 16-of-130 Thanksgivings on record (12%) have featured high temperatures of 60°-or-warmer, but half of them have occurred within the last 28 years. However, there have also been plenty of legitimately-cold Thanksgivings in recent years, including six years ago in 2019 and four-consecutive ones from 2013-2016 that failed to reach 40°. As for truly bone-chilling cold, Thanksgivings in 1985 (high 14°/low 3°) and 1993 (high of 16°/low 1°) stand out among the most frigid of the last several decades.

Precipitation/Snowfall: As for liquid precipitation equivalent (which includes any melted snowfall), measurable amounts of 0.01"-or-more have occurred in 19-of-130 years, or only 15% of the time. In the last 30 years, measurable precipitation has only fallen TWICE (2019/2015). Measurable Thanksgiving snow (at least 0.1") has been quite rare on the holiday itself, with only 10 instances on record (most recently 2019). The 3.2" that fell a decade ago in 2015 actually marked the 3rd-snowiest-Thanksgiving on record, falling slightly short of the 4.0" measured in 1931 and 1919. However, when including the entire "Thanksgiving weekend" as part of the holiday, 1983 certainly stands out: while Thanksgiving itself on the 24th was seasonable and dry, a significant snowfall of 13.6" piled up between the 26-27th (Saturday and Sunday)!
 

 **2024 Thanksgiving Recap (seasonably-cold...but dry and not too windy) **

Thanksgiving 2024 was mainly just a seasonably-cold (but NOT overly-cold) late-November day. The afternoon high temperature topped out at 35° (the coldest in five years), while the official calendar-day low temperature of 15° actually occurred just before midnight that night (the "traditional" early-morning low temperature was 17°). Cloud cover through the day was variable, but overall the afternoon was cloudier than than the morning. While the automated airport weather sensor detected no precipitation, radar data suggested that a few passing flurries might have come very close to clipping Grand Island during the afternoon (but mainly focusing off to the north-through-east). As for winds, they were only a touch breezy, averaging no more than sustained 10-15 MPH/occasional gusts up to around 20 MPH. 
 

 Thanksgiving Normals/Extremes for Grand Island (1895-2024):

 Recent History...The Last 10 Thanksgivings in Grand Island (2015-2024):