When the weather gets chilly, do you want to go to work, eat Thanksgiving or watch your favorite TV show?
There’s no need to fret about those options for most Americans, who could easily skip Thanksgiving.
The cold weather that’s been hitting the Northeast this week, however, is proving a bit of a problem.
The National Weather Service says it’s expected to hit the 50s and lower in some places.
The weather bureau says the cold will last through Friday and Saturday.
The forecast is “warm enough for some activity” in some areas, the weather service says, adding that the cold may bring snow and sleet.
But that doesn’t mean everyone should be taking a nap or doing their laundry in their cars.
The problem isn’t just about the weather.
“People are doing it just to get away from the cold and the heat,” says Mark Stokes, a meteorologist at Weatherbell Analytics.
“They’re not thinking about the long-term impacts of this on their bodies and the health of their health.”
It’s been nearly two weeks since the weather peaked at 35 degrees.
The worst-cases scenario would see it hover in the mid-40s for the next four to six weeks.
“It’s probably going to be a little colder than what it was last week,” says Stokes.
The biggest worry is that some of those cold weather people will have to leave their houses for a while.
“The weather has changed so much this winter,” says Scott Aitken, who manages the Climate Forecast and Research Center at the University of Georgia.
“So many people have moved into apartments, condos and other places.
And so many people aren’t doing anything but going to work.
They’re not going to go out to a park.”
But, he adds, the warm weather could bring some people back into the swing of things.
“There’s a lot of people who have been able to go outdoors,” Aitkin says.
“But you’ll have a lot more people that have not been able do that, who are doing their work, who can’t go outside, who will be working late into the night.”
This is a developing story.
We will update this article with additional information as it becomes available.
