We've officially had snow in Illinois for the first time this season. While it wasn't a lot, more is on the way for Thanksgiving travel. Those traveling for turkey day need to keep a close eye on not only Thanksgiving Day, but also Thanksgiving Eve when many people are traveling.

Snow in the forecast for Illinois on Thanksgiving isn't unusual, but we normally like snow on Christmas morning. Actually, we're going to get snow pretty darn close to the average snowfall on Thanksgiving if everything pans out. As we start to see snow in our forecast for Thanksgiving Day and leading up to the holiday, it's also a good reminder to start getting your home and your vehicle prepared for winter.

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Illinois Thanksgiving Travel Forecast Has Snow

Our first snowfall of the season wasn't much. If you're traveling for Thanksgiving, especially if it includes a love drive or flight, it might sound scary. With Thanksgiving Eve being one of the most traveled days during the holiday week, throwing snow in there can be terrifying.

But I can assure you that snow around Thanksgiving this year won't account for much.

We're a week away from seeing flurries around Thanksgiving but those flurries will actually be accompanied by rain. At the time of writing this article, the NWS forecast doesn't even get to when our predicted turkey day flurries will be.

In the 10-day outlook from both NBC 5 and The Weather Channel, we can see that there is a chance for some possible snow showers on November 28th, Thanksgiving Day, which will be mixed with some rain and eventually transition into rain. With the ground temperature expected to reach into the upper 30s by Thanksgiving, we could see some snow stick if there isn't too much rain to wash it away.

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If we do see some snow next Thursday, we'll see our first bit of snow on Thanksgiving since 2007 when we got 0.1 inches of snow. The National Weather Service says we see a trace of snow on Thanksgiving around 23% of the time.

The most snow we have ever seen on Thanksgiving Day will be 44 years ago on Thanksgiving. We saw 3 inches of snow on November 27th (Thanksgiving Day), 1980.

U.S. Government's Level 4 Do Not Travel List

Many people travel at the end of the year for the holidays or to use up vacation days that may expire. These countries have a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory issued on them by the U.S. Government and should be avoided.

Gallery Credit: Canva

Essential Winter Emergency Kit Items

Winter season in the Quad Cities means cold temperatures, heavy snow, and slick roads. Hopefully, you won't ever need to tap into your winter emergency kit, but it's better to have one in your car than to be unprepared. Make sure you have these essential items in your car before winter arrives in the Quad Cities.

Gallery Credit: Connor Kenney/Townsquare Media Quad Cities

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