Morning Briefing Feb. 15, 2021: Tracking snowstorm headed for SE Michigan

Here are this morning’s top stories

A winter weather advisory is in effect for most of southeastern Michigan until noon Tuesday.

The National Weather Service is urging residents to plan for hazardous and slow travel.

A winter storm warning is in effect until noon Tuesday for Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Sanilac, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.

From the Local 4Casters:

A bigger storm heading this way from Texas will redevelop snow Monday evening, which will become heavy at times Monday night before winding down Tuesday morning.

  • This should easily be a 6-to-8-inch snowfall, so total snow from what falls both Sunday night/Monday morning and Monday night/Tuesday morning could approach 10 inches in some areas.

Full weather forecast: 6-to-10 inches of snow tonight

This graphic from the National Weather Service shows the probability of at least 6 inches of snow, indicated by the color legend on the left:

24-hour probability of snowfall accumulating -- Feb. 15-16, 2021 (National Weather Service)

Tracking school closings

Winter weather already has prompted some school closings in Metro Detroit.

There is plenty of snow expected overnight Monday into Tuesday morning, so you can expect even more closings to be announced.


Snowstorm safety tips

In Michigan, we’re used to this. Many of us learned to drive in the snow. But, it never hurts to review some safety tips from state police: Snowstorm safety tips from Michigan State Police, Michigan Department of Transportation.


Coronavirus in Michigan 💉

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 574,224 as of Saturday, including 15,150 deaths, state officials report.

Saturday’s update includes 852 new cases and 88 additional deaths -- which includes 84 deaths identified during a review of records, meaning they did not occur between Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the state reported a total of 573,372 cases and 15,062 deaths.

On Saturday, the state reported a total of 517,991 recoveries from the virus.

The state no longer provides coronavirus data updates on Sundays; the next update is expected Monday afternoon.

New COVID-19 cases have plateaued and deaths are starting to slow. Testing has been steady with more than 40,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate down below 4.0% as of Wednesday. Hospitalizations continue to decline over the last several weeks.

Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 939 on Saturday -- the lowest since October. The 7-day death average was 44 on Saturday. The state’s fatality rate is 2.6%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 41,100 on Saturday -- the lowest it’s been since October.

Here’s a look at more of the data:


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