Forecasters at the National Weather Service say the outlook for Black Friday and the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is for mild temperatures in the 50s, great news for shoppers who don’t want to lug around bulky coats while doing their Christmas shopping.

Myron Padgett, a staff meteorologist at the NWS office in Wilmington, told The Times-Gazette that although Thanksgiving Day will remain chilly, a cold front will spin northward and allow warmer temperatures throughout the weekend.

“We’re looking at a pretty good day on Friday with dry conditions, sunny skies and temperatures reaching into the upper 40s to low 50s,” he said. “There’s some rain moving in Friday over night into Saturday morning, so if you’ve got shopping plans, Friday looks like the better day to snap up those Black Friday bargains.”

He said the rainy Saturday weather pattern will be moving out Sunday morning, which would make it a good travel day for those returning to work or school.

“Drivers on Sunday should see dry roads and partly cloudy skies,” he said. “And just like the mild weather we should see on Thanksgiving Day, travel day Sunday should be even milder with a daytime high in the upper 50s.

Just in time for the start of the work week, he said, another weather system is moving into southwest Ohio that will bring with it the threat of rain and chillier temperatures Monday, with highs only reaching the low 40s.

He said drivers going to work and kids waiting for the school bus Tuesday morning may see snow flurries flying as highs will only reach a couple of degrees above freezing.

“We’ll see daytime temperatures hovering in the low to mid 30s all week and into the first day of December,” he said. “We might have some snow flurries off and on throughout the week, but nothing in the way of any major snowfall that would cause any problems.”

Padgett said if nothing else, any snow flurries next week as the calendar turns to December will only help people get into the Christmas spirit.

Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.