Light snow possible on Thanksgiving; but rain in afternoon

Thanksgiving Day could begin with another round of snowfall in the Puget Sound area, but the snow is expected to be light and give way to rain by early afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The Weather Service issued a winter-weather advisory Wednesday evening through Thursday at about 1 p.m., when temperatures are expected to rise to above freezing. There's a high chance of precipitation Thursday, which could begin as snow, particularly in higher elevations.

The Weather Service issues winter advisories to warn people of severe conditions so they can prepare. Residents are urged to bundle up, avoid the roads if they can, and stock up on emergency essentials such as flashlights, food and water at home.

Up to an inch of snow could accumulate in lower areas in the morning, but a weak warm front moving in from the Pacific should lift temperatures above freezing by about 1 p.m., said meteorologist Johnny Burg. There could be local icing problems in the early afternoon before the ground warms up.

Thursday afternoon, highs in the upper 30s and low 40s are expected around the Seattle area, a sharp contrast to Wednesday morning's chill, which set a record low for the date of 14 degrees at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The previous record low for Nov. 24 was 16 degrees.

Single-digit tempratures were common early Wednesday in east King and Pierce counties, including a reading of 3 degrees at a site north of Enumclaw and readings of 7 in Graham and 8 in Bonney Lake and Carnation.

Lows of 9 degrees were recorded in Shelton, Olympia and outside Renton.

The coming warm front is expected gradually to bring temperatures back into a typical range, meteorologist Dennis D'Amico said. At this time of year, the normal Sea-Tac low is 39 and the high is 49.

Showers are likely Friday and Saturday with highs in the 40s. Sunday is forecast to be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and highs near 40.

What are the chances another city-debilitating snowstorm will strike before the end of the year? Pretty darn low, weather-service Burg said.

But, he said, "We can't rule out that we won't see snow again during the next month."

Seattle Times staff reporter Jill Kimball contributed to this report.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222