BOSTON – Confidence is growing ahead of a very stormy Thanksgiving holiday across New England. For this reason, the WBZ weather team has issued a NEXT weather warning for Thursday.

Before we get into the details of the holiday weather, we have a little “appetizer storm.”

“Appetizer Storm” on Tuesday

Locally, Tuesday will be a rainy day in the Northeast. There will be intermittent showers from morning to afternoon, mostly light to moderate.

Rainfall totals are generally less than half an inch.

Temperatures will be in the 50s in our area on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for portions of central and northern New England on Tuesday.

Temperatures will be slightly cooler in this region and therefore there will be a wintry mix of rain, ice and snow.

Snow and ice amounts will be light, but some roads in Concord, New Hampshire and areas to the north could be slippery.

Statewide, it will be quite windy in the upper Midwest (behind the rain area).

Our Thanksgiving storm will move through the Rocky Mountains on Tuesday, producing some rain and snow showers.

Partly sunny on Wednesday

On site…The peace between the “starter” and the “main course”. Partly sunny skies with highs between 40 and near 50 degrees in southern New England and a slightly gusty breeze at times.

At the national level… The main event will now have moved to the central part of the country. It will be in the process of pulling itself together as it moves south into northern Texas.

Expect some rain showers across the southern Plains and some increasing snowfall in parts of Wyoming and Colorado.

Winter mix for Thanksgiving

One of the strongest storms we’ve seen here in a long time will bring a wintry mix to the region. Rainfall totals in eastern Massachusetts could easily reach or exceed an inch.

When will the storm come on Thanksgiving?

It will basically be miserable all day long. When the storm arrives in the morning hours, it will begin with light rain and snow showers. Morning high school football games will be rough and damp, getting wetter by the hour.

Cold and steady rain is expected across eastern Massachusetts this afternoon and evening.

This storm will bring the first accumulation of snow to portions of southern and central New England.

Taking into account the time of year, ocean temperatures and storm track, the greatest chance of snowfall is at higher elevations. This is fairly typical for storms in late November.

Areas that will see the heaviest snowfall include the Green and White Mountains, the Berkshires and the highest elevations in northern Worcester County and southwestern New Hampshire.

There may also be gusty winds during the day on Thursday. While the winds are not a major concern with this storm, we did see brief gusts of 25-45 mph along the immediate shoreline. Luckily the tides are astronomically low, so coastal flooding is not a problem.

On Friday and this weekend the weather looks much calmer, but it will be rather cool.

The coldest air mass so far this season will move into New England from Canada.

Daytime highs will remain stuck in the 30s and lower 40s, with gusty winds at times making it feel even colder.

Things could still change and some adjustments to the forecast are likely. Stay tuned to WBZ-TV and CBSBoston.com.