NWS: The latest on the weather outlook for Thanksgiving & the weekend

As many people finalized holiday plans that might take them on the road or to the skies Thursday, the National Weather Service (NWS) continues to monitor an approaching cold front that’s expected to bring rain and possibly stormy weather to our area and other parts of Georgia.

A Hazardous Weather Outlook was posted Wednesday afternoon that includes the latest predictions for the next two or three days.

"The probability of widespread hazardous weather is low," it begins. 
"Showers and thunderstorms will increase in coverage starting tonight. These are currently expected to remain below severe limits, though some strong storms will be possible."

As the rain moves out, a cold front will enter north Georgia Thanksgiving morning "with a broken line of showers and a few thunderstorms, the outlook says. "This will push into central Georgia by the early afternoon. A few thunderstorms could become strong to severe with a risk for locally damaging wind gusts. A brief, weak tornado can also not be ruled out."

And all of this will be followed much colder weather with daytime highs in the 40s and 50s and nighttime lows in the mid- to upper-20s in the Gainesville area and possibly some teens in the mountains.