Messy mix moves in for holiday travel

Deep early-winter cold set in Monday night, dropping us into the mid-teens in some locations, and setting the table for some wintry precipitation as the next storm system rolls in from the west and south.

Clouds will swarm overhead as we barely make 40 on Tuesday. Snow and rain break out after 9 p.m. and sweep east toward midnight.

There may be some mix all the way to Interstate 495 initially, but that will quickly recoil to the Worcester Hills and southwest New Hampshire. It's here that the snow hold for a couple of hours as more waves of precipitation move in.

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Eventually, the warmer air overwhelms the cold and everyone will see liquid precipitation by 2-4 a.m. Heavier elements of rain will work into the area early on Wednesday morning around commute time.

This may lead to some minor delays at the area airports, which could backlog into the afternoon — despite the fact that the rain will be letting up.

Delays are also possible from the burst of morning wind that will buffet the storm. Gusts could top 40 miles per hour – and in isolated cases 50 — on the Cape and Islands through 10 a.m. Other spots hit the 30-40 range along the coast. Winds will switch to the northwest late day, but aren't expected to be as strong.

Thanksgiving will dawn semi-bright and dry. Breezes stay up, and so do the temps. Morning lows will only be in the low 40s, while we leap to the low 50s by afternoon. Roads stay dry into the evening.