Climate Center reports chances of fluffed ground for stuffed bird at Thanksgiving in region are best in Boonville, N.Y.

For travelers going over the river and through the woods to celebrate Thanksgiving 2006, the best probability of seeing snow on the ground Nov. 23 in the Northeast is in Boonville, N.Y., which has a 54 percent chance of snow, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell.

Boonville, located in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains and the southeastern Tug Hill Plateau region of New York state, also has the highest chance of snow on the Nov. 22 travel day, at 40 percent.

For the return travel day – Sunday, Nov. 26 – the chances of snow in Boonville are 44 percent.

Looking at other hot spots for cold flakes on Thanksgiving: The chance of snow in Caribou, Maine, is 48 percent; in Burlington, Vt., 30 percent. In New York state, the chance of snow in Ithaca is 24 percent, in Binghamton, 22 percent, and in Syracuse, 20 percent.

The data were compiled by Cornell climatologist Kathy Vreeland, who used records from 1956 to 2005 to determine the probabilities.

Buffalo, N.Y.– which had a freak lake-effect snowstorm Oct. 12-13 this year with 22.6 inches at its airport – has a 14 percent chance of seeing white this Thanksgiving.

The northeastern cities with the best chance of a snow-free Thanksgiving are New York City; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Providence, R.I.; Atlantic City, N.J.; and Wilmington, Del.