Rain and Snow Heading Toward Boise, Will It Impact Your Thanksgiving Travel?

When you got in your vehicle this morning, did you have to do a double-take to see if your eyes were deceiving you? They weren't. It was really 29º. 

If you have a remote start on your vehicle or sprung for heated seats when you bought your last car, we know they got a workout this morning. We know as soon as it gets this cold, you start wondering how far behind those frigid temperatures the snow is, and now we're getting a clearer picture.

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According to several forecast models, there's a cold front moving into Boise on Tuesday that will not only make things breezy but wet as well. Kody Wilson of Treasure Valley Weather HQ, our trusted source for everything weather, notes that depending on what time the front arrives we could see wet snow or a mix of rain and snow down in the valley.

The forecast for Boise that The Weather Channel feeds iPhone users says that precipitation could start as early as 8 a.m., while the National Weather Service predicts it closer to 11 a.m.

No matter what time it arrives, Kody, The Weather Channel and National Weather Service all agree that there will be little to no accumulation. After the front moves through, there's no significant precipitation in the forecast for the rest of the holiday weekend. The roads should be dry for travel or participating in one of the Thanksgiving runs scheduled in Boise, Nampa and Caldwell. Lows will still be in the upper-20s to lower-30s, so make sure you have an ice scraper if you're parking outside.

As for Thanksgiving itself? The forecast is calling for partly sunny skies and a high of 48º.

Boise itself rarely experiences extreme winter weather on Thanksgiving Day. According to National Weather Service Records, we haven't received measurable snowfall on Thanksgiving Day in the last 10 years. The last time there was snow on the ground on Thanksgiving was in 2015. That year, we got 2" of snow the day before Turkey Day.

After Monday, we'll be past due for our first measurable snowfall of the year. Typically that happens on November 22. The earliest first snow we've had in a season is October 10 (2008) and the latest was January 9 (1918.)