Metro Detroit weather forecast: The ice wasn't nice

Plus a long-range outlook (back to winter)

For the second week in a row, we’ve had a pretty crazy twenty-four hour stretch of weather! 

It started with freezing rain, sleet and snow yesterday, which continued as freezing rain through most of the night except for the far south.  Then, early this morning, thunder and lightning  added to the mix.  I record a daily weather observation at my home and, for the first time in my ten-plus years of doing this, I recorded a thunder-freezing-rain shower!  The main batch of rain moved out this morning, leaving us with just some pockets of drizzle and areas of fog this afternoon.  A lot of people are asking me when “real” winter weather will return, and I see that happening…more on that later in this article.  But first, if you want to understand how we can get all of those different types of precipitation, I explained it Monday on Local 4 News at Noon – in only forty seconds!  You can see that explanation here.

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An upper level disturbance racing across southern Michigan overnight will bring a quick batch of rain and wet snow to the area between midnight and 4:00 AM.  I do not expect any snow accumulation, so no worries about that.  Lows in the mid 30s (1 degree Celsius).  Southwest wind at 7 to 12 mph.

Cloudy skies will start our Wednesday, with some breaks of sun possible by late afternoon.  Highs in the low 40s (5 degrees Celsius).  Remember that our average high for the day is 32 degrees (0 degrees Celsius), so we’re still living large in the temperature department.  Southwest wind at 7 to 12 mph.

Wednesday’s sunrise is at 7:58 AM, and Wednesday’s sunset is at 5:30 PM.

Gradual clearing Wednesday night, with fog developing a few hours after the skies clear.  Lows in the low 30s (0 degrees Celsius).

Once the morning fog burns off, skies should become partly cloudy on Thursday, with highs in the mid 40s (6 degrees Celsius).

Partly cloudy Thursday night, with lows in the low 30s (0 degrees Celsius).

Becoming cloudy with rain developing on Friday.  Highs in the mid 40s (6 degrees Celsius).

Mostly cloudy Friday night, with lows in the mid 30s (3 degrees Celsius).

Mostly cloudy but dry on Saturday, with highs in the upper 40s (9 degrees Celsius).  This is looking like a fantastic day to come downtown for Winter Blast!

Mostly cloudy Saturday night, with lows near 40 degrees (4 to 5 degrees Celsius).

Cloudy on Sunday with showers developing by late afternoon.  As long as the showers hold off, this looks like another great day for Winter Blast!  Highs near 50 degrees (10 degrees Celsius).

Rain develops Sunday night, with lows in the low 40s (5 degrees Celsius).

Rain is likely on Monday, with highs in the upper 40s (9 degrees Celsius).

At least scattered showers are still possible on Tuesday, with highs in the mid 40s (7 degrees Celsius).

Showers are possible again on Wednesday, with highs in the low 40s (5 degrees Celsius).

Since a lot of people are asking, I took a look at the super long range computer models, and I see outstanding agreement that, after next Wednesday, we’ll return to a more typical winter temperature regime that should stick around at least into the first week of February.  No big snowstorms showing up at this point, but at least cold enough temperatures so that any weather feature that crosses our area should trigger snow instead of rain.

AVERAGE  TEMPERATURE PATTERN THIS WEEK:

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE PATTERN AFTER NEXT WEDNESDAY: