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 129 years to 1895.
Temperatures: According to the entire period of record, the warmest Thanksgiving occurred seven years ago in 2017 with a balmy high of 72°, while the coldest low temperature was a frigid -2° in 1938. Only 16-of-129 Thanksgivings on record (12%) have featured high temperatures of 60°-or-warmer, but half of them have occurred within the last 27 years. However, there have also been plenty of legitimately-cold Thanksgivings in recent years, including five 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-129 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 nine years 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)!
**2023 Thanksgiving Recap (dry, but seasonably-chilly with brisk winds) **
Thanksgiving 2023 was a fairly typical, seasonably-chilly (but NOT overly-cold) late-November day. Somewhat oddly, the calendar-day high temperature of 42° actually occurred shortly after midnight (extremely early in the "climate day") and the calendar-day low of 25° actually occurred just prior to midnight that night (extremely late in the "climate day"). The actual daytime/afternoon high temperature only reached 39°, but it felt colder due to brisk north-northeast winds commonly sustained 15-20+ MPH/gusting 20-30 MPH. The day started out mostly sunny, but increasing high level clouds gradually invaded with time.
| Date |
High |
Low |
Precip | Snow | 6 AM Snow Depth |
Weather Basics |
| 11/23/2023 | 42° | 25° | 0.00" | 0.0" | 0" | increasing clouds, brisk NNE winds |
Thanksgiving Normals/Extremes for Grand Island (1895-2023):
| Grand Island NE | High Temp | Low Temp | Precip |
| 30-Year Climate "NORMALS" (1991-2020) | 47° | 25° | 0.03" |
| 10-Year AVERAGES (2014-2023) | 45.9° | 24.4° | 0.03" |
| Grand Island All-Time Thanksgiving Records (Since 1895) |
|
| Top 5 Warmest Highs | Top 5 Coldest Lows | Top 5 Wettest | Top 5 Snowiest |
| 72° (2017) | -2° (1938) | 0.93" (1896) | 4.0" (1931, 1919) |
| 71° (1998) | 1° (1993) | 0.41" (1931) | 3.2" (2015) |
| 70° (1914) | 3° (1985,1975,1952,1919) | 0.35" (1928) | 3.0" (1928) |
| 67° (1976) | 4° (1950) | 0.30" (1919) | 1.4" (1979) |
| 66° (2011) | 6° (2010, 1896) | 0.29" (2015) | 0.5" (1993/1958/1950) |
| When is the last time _______ happened on Thanksgiving in Grand Island? |
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| Thanksgiving Over THE LAST 30 YEARS...Since 1994 |
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The 10 Most Recent Thanksgivings in Grand Island (2014-2023):
| Date | High Temp | Low Temp | Precip | Snow | 6 AM Snow Depth |
Weather Basics |
| 11/27/2014 | 38° | 15° | 0.00" | 0.0" | 0" | |
| 11/26/2015 | 34° | 21° | 0.29" | 3.2" | 0" | first Thanksgiving snow in 22 years! |
| 11/24/2016 | 38° | 29° | 0.00" | 0.0" | 0" | foggy, dreary |
| 11/23/2017 | 72° | 35° | 0.00" | 0.0" | 0" | record-warmest Thanksgiving! |
| 11/22/2018 | 64° | 30° | 0.00" | 0.0" | 0" | mostly sunny & breezy |
| 11/28/2019 | 31° | 16° | 0.04" | 0.3" | 6" | AM snow, afternoon freezing drizzle |
| 11/26/2020 | 49° | 28° | 0.00" | 0.0" | 0" | mostly sunny |
| 11/25/2021 | 38° | 19° | 0.00" | 0.0" | 0" | sunny...but chilly |
| 11/24/2022 | 53° | 26° | 0.00" | 0.0" | 0" | mostly sunny...but fairly windy |
| 11/23/2023 | 42° | 25° | 0.00" | 0.0" | 0" | increasing clouds, brisk NNE winds |
| 11/28/2024 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 10-Yr Averages | 45.9° | 24.4° | 0.03" | 0.3" |
For more local climate information, check out the following website:
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