Metro Detroit got way more snow than expected. Here’s why and what happened

Metro Detroit saw a lot more snow than expected on Wednesday, with many waking up to snow continuing to fall Thursday morning.

Models showed the thumb region was expected to get the snowstorm, with Metro Detroit expected to get around 2 inches by Wednesday evening. However, that wasn’t the case, as we all saw.

So, what happened and why?

4Warn Weather Meteorologist Kim Adams said a relatively small change in the atmosphere created a big change in the forecast.

--> Kim Adams: Why we got more snow than expected in Metro Detroit

And according to 4Warn Weather Meteorologist Ashlee Baracy, Wednesday’s snow event was an overachiever due to lake-effect moisture, which was grossly underestimated with all model data.

The lakes boosted available moisture in the area as snow started coming in. With cold air and moisture at play, this created bigger, fluffier flakes and made the snowfall more organized and widespread.

Early data showed that Metro Detroit saw around 6 inches of snow.

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