DETROIT – Before getting to the forecast, I need to get something off my chest.
On Friday, for the third time in three days, I saw somebody driving on the freeway with snow-covered windows. I want to make something perfectly clear: If you don't have time to clear the snow from your car windows, then you have no business being behind the wheel. Perhaps you don't care about the risk you put yourself (and more importantly, the rest of us) in by having restricted visibility.
Example:
But maybe you'll care about this: If a police officer or trooper sees you driving with snow covered windows, expect to see flashing lights behind you (if you can see them through the snow on your rear window, that is), and also expect your wallet to be a lot lighter when you pay that ticket. Judges won't buy the lame excuse that put you behind the wheel with snow-covered windows and put so many people at risk, so you'll pay that fine.
OK, I think that's enough venting for one day.
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On to the forecast:
Scattered snow showers and squalls this evening will diminish overnight as eastward moving high pressure slides to our south and shifts our wind to the southwest…which shuts off the Lake Michigan lake effect snow machine for southeast Michigan. Lows will be all over the place depending upon how much cloud cover you hold onto overnight, ranging from -5° to +5°.
However, a 10 to 15 mph wind will put wind chills between -10° and -20°, which is why the National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Advisory through 12 p.m. Saturday. The lowest wind chills will likely be south of Detroit, as this area will have less moderating impact from Lake Michigan due to the developing southwest wind.
Mostly sunny but still cold on Saturday, with highs around 11°, but the southwest wind at 10 to 18 mph will keep wind chills between -15° to -20° early to -5° in the afternoon. Increasing clouds Saturday night, with steady temperatures around 10°. Some of you in the Thumb could see some light snow showers Saturday night.
Cloudy on Sunday with highs in the mid 20s.
Sunday night into early Monday is where things start getting interesting. If you've been following my forecast all week, you know I've been talking about a snow potential. Today's models do bring some moisture northward into the cold airmass over us. At this point, it does look as if snow will develop Sunday night, but the models differ on how far north the snow will advance. For example, our SMC model brings the snow north of I-69, our RPM model keeps most of it south of the state line, and the GFS and ECMWF are right in the middle and bring some snow up to the middle of the metro area. I'd like to see more agreement among the models but, right now, I'm inclined to lean toward the middle-of-the-road GFS/ECMWF solutions. For planning purposes, I'd keep on your radar the possibility for a messy Monday morning commute, and we'll keep you updated. By the way, overnight lows Sunday night should be in the mid to upper teens.
As mentioned above, however far north the snow comes will continue through the morning, then taper off during the afternoon. This is not a huge snow storm -- preliminary data I've seen today suggests perhaps a couple of inches. Highs in the mid 20s.
Gradual clearing Monday night, with lows by Tuesday morning highly dependent upon the skies clearing and the wind becoming light. If that happens, and right now I think it will, then lows should be around zero.
Now we start a quiet stretch of weather. Mostly sunny on Tuesday, with highs in the mid teens. Mostly clear Tuesday night, with lows in the low single numbers.
Mostly sunny on Wednesday, with highs near 20. Becoming partly cloudy Wednesday night, with lows in the low teens.
Partly to mostly cloudy on Thursday, with highs in the mid 20s. Partly cloudy Thursday night, with lows in the mid teens.
Partly cloudy on Friday, with highs -- get ready for this -- in the low 30s! Woo hoo!