Could we have a bonafide winter storm threat at some point over the next couple of weeks?

That might seem far-fetched, given that we’re talking about the last week of November and first week of December, but it isn’t outside the realm of possibility.

A pattern change is shaping up for later this week. A two-part cool-down will begin Tuesday, with the second part to come Thursday. Our temperatures by Thanksgiving afternoon will be in the upper 30s; quite a change from just yesterday, when we were in the mid 60s. And, some snow flurries or even snow showers can’t be ruled out from Thursday evening through Friday.

But that’s just the start. It appears that the Southern branch of the jet stream will become active in the days ahead. That should spawn some storm systems that could potentially interact with cold air and produce some wintry weather for parts of the Southeast. Nailing down when, where and how much is an exercise in futility, of course, but the GFS computer model has been toying with the idea of a couple of systems that could potentially bring wintry precipitation to some areas.

It’s far too soon to go into details of what the GFS is showing (see if for yourself here), because we’re talking about something almost two weeks away, those model runs are not consistent yet, and it will almost certainly change dramatically. Not to mention the fact that the overall probability of seeing some significant winter weather play out in early December is very, very low. But, the general timeframe of Dec. 3-7 is one to keep an eye on. The general idea is that a Gulf low could push north and east, spreading precipitation with a cold air mass in place over the Mid-South. Whether it’s a cold rain or a wet snow is anyone’s guess. Timing and positioning is everything, even if a.) the cold air does indeed press South as we get into the week after Thanksgiving, and b.) a low does materialize out of the Gulf.

So, it’s a very small possibility (which is why you won’t see professional meteorologists touch it with a 10-ft. pole right now . . . beyond seven days is reason enough to leave it alone), but it’s a possibility nevertheless. Let’s remember those dates—Dec. 3-7—and see how it shapes up in the days ahead.