By Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com | Posted on November 20, 2018 at 1:23 pm
Ready for a very cold Thanksgiving? Meteorologists say it could break records in New Jersey and New York City. (Julio Cortez | AP)
To date, you've already heard of the cold weather on Thanksgiving Day and the possibility that it's the coldest ever for Thanksgiving, with mercury stuck in the first twenty hours all day.
In addition to that, gusts of wind will blow and give the impression of being in adolescence.
But will it really be the coldest Thanksgiving of New Jersey? The answer depends on your place of residence and the distance traveled by the book of records.
We checked Newark's statistics – the main climate site of the state – and found the coldest Thanksgiving ever recorded was that of 1996. This turkey day, which fell on November 28, had a high temperature 31 degrees and a minimum of 22, according to the National Weather Service climatological database.
Other cold Thanksgivings
In all the record keeping years in Newark, dating back to 1931, no other Thanksgiving day had a reading at both high and low temperatures as cold as that of 1996.
However, some Thanksgivings have come very close in terms of freezing weather.
- Thanksgiving of 1938 (Nov. 24) was a minimum of 22 degrees of Thanksgiving in 1996, but the maximum was 34, three degrees "warmer" than it was in 1996.
- Thanksgiving 1989 (November 23) was a maximum of 31 degrees of Thanksgiving in 1996, but the minimum was 24, two degrees "warmer" than the 1996 minimum.
- Thanksgiving 1972 (November 23) had a high of 36 degrees, which is above the freezing point, but an icy minimum of 23 degrees, making it one of Newark's three coldest Thanksgivings on the base the daily minimum.
What are the forecasts for Thanksgiving 2018 in Newark? The national meteorological service only requires a maximum of 27 degrees and a minimum of 21 degrees, which could set a new record for the holidays.
By the way, the temperatures forecast for Thursday are 25 degrees below normal for the end of November.