The indoor forecast for Thanksgiving has been finalized: Turkeys will finish thawing this Thanksgiving morning, then warm in the oven to a high near or above 165 in the afternoon. The kitchen will turn hot and humid, and if you bother the cook, be ready for a severe squall or a cold shoulder. During the late afternoon and early evening hours, the cold front of a knife will slice through the turkey and cause it to accumulate 1-2 inches on plates. Mashed potatoes will drift across one side while cranberry sauce creates slippery spots on the other, especially if it mixes in as you turn to the green bean casserole. Please pass the gravy. A weight watch has been issued for the entire area, and we expect intervals of indigestion, with increasing stuffiness around the beltway. During the evening, the turkey will diminish and taper to leftovers before dropping to a low of 34 in the refrigerator. Looking ahead to Friday and Saturday: high pressure to eat sandwiches; flurries of leftovers can be expected both days with a 50% chance of scattered soup during the midday hours. We expect a warming trend baste on where soup develops.

A few thoughts:

Thanks! It's such a simple word, and one we use so often. But on our day of Thanksgiving, we try to think of how much there is we can be thankful for.

In each season, there are certain kinds of weather for which we're thankful. In summer, there is the subtle rustle of a breeze when the incandescent sun bakes broils and fries us. In the fall, it may be the rich tapestry of color under a crisp blue autumn sky. In winter, we get the special sparkle of early morning sun off a mantle of freshly fallen snow, or the delicate lattice work of frost on the window pane. And in spring, we give thanks for the first kiss of the warm soft wind... that reassurance that winter is past and the fields are about to burst with color. On this day of Thanksgiving, we know there are things we'd be thankful to be rid of... we can do without the dreary cloaks of fog that dim the dawn and nullify noon. In winter, we might pass on the days of oozing gray slush that squishes at us with each passing car. In spring we can probably do just fine without the shock of lightning or a twisting tornado.

But, now it is Thanks Giving, a time for looking at and for the positive side of life. These days, it's a bittersweet endeavor. We are thankful for the opportunity to be with friends and family. We pray for the elimination of those around the world with heads hindered by hate, those whose minds know only midnight

If each one of us lights an inner flame for just one thing- just one aspect of our lives we are thankful for, the warmth we create can light the world on Thanksgiving. The flame of warmth and love can burn so bright that no cold wind on earth can blow it out.

And, here is the video forecast for the Great Lakes and Northeast:

This enhanced IR picture shows cloudiness associated with a weak disturbance that is moving eastward through the Central Great Lakes and the Upper Ohio Valley.

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