Snow returns Wednesday in Metro Detroit: Timeline, what to expect

Winter weather advisory issued for parts of SE Michigan

In some respects, today’s computer models are a little less clear than yesterday in terms of depicting exactly how the approaching area of snow will set up tonight and Wednesday, but we have enough meaningful meteorological guidance to hone in on how the amounts will be distributed across southeast Michigan.

First, we’ll be dry early this evening, so we’re fine for our plans during that time frame.  Snow will develop overnight, and many of us (but not necessarily all) will have snow falling for the morning rush hour.  

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Temperatures will fall into the upper teens (-8 degrees Celsius), before leveling off after the snow develops. Northeast wind at 4 to 8 mph.

Snow tapers off Wednesday afternoon, with areas to the north hanging on to the snow the longest before it moves out.  

Here is a series of maps showing you our high-resolution in-house RPM model’s projection of the snow pattern every three hours from midnight to midnight on Wednesday:

In terms of snow amounts, it’s becoming clear that there will be a significant gradient from south to north, with the least falling near the state line, and the most to the far north.  

Generally, it looks like an inch or less south of I-94, 1” to 2” from I-94 to I-696, 2” to 3” from I-696 to M-59, 3” to 4” from M-59 to I-69, and 4” to 6” north of I-69.  

Here’s a map showing you the snow distribution…notice that tight gradient right across the heart of the area:

Accordingly, our National Weather Service office has issued a Winter Weather Advisory from midnight through 5:00 p.m. Wednesday for areas north of 8 Mile.

On our Snow Meter, we’re just going to call this a solid Nuisance Snow.  Since most of the snow will fall with temperatures below 25 degrees, this will be a fluffier than normal snow.  

So, it’ll be a nuisance in terms of slower than normal rush hours, but it shouldn’t be that tough to shovel for most of us.

Temperatures Wednesday afternoon should reach the upper 20s (-2 to -1 degrees Celsius) and, fortunately, a variable wind at only 4 to 8 mph means that we won’t be dealing with significant blowing and drifting like we did a couple of days ago.

Wednesday’s sunrise is at 7:12 a.m., and Wednesday’s sunset is at 6:21 p.m.

Partial clearing Wednesday night, along with light wind and that fresh snowpack, means that temperatures will quickly tumble…eventually falling into the low to mid-teens (-11 to -9 degrees Celsius).

Thursday and Friday

We’ll start Thursday with some sunshine, but clouds will increase, unfortunately.  Highs in the upper 20s (-2 to -1 degrees Celsius).

Mostly cloudy Thursday night, with lows near 20 degrees (-7 degrees Celsius).

Partly cloudy on Friday…a nice day to end the work week.  Highs rebounding into the mid 30s (3 degrees Celsius).

The weekend

It appears that light snow will develop Friday night and continue into Saturday.  Accumulations don’t appear significant, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to get an inch or two.  Highs in the mid 30s (2 degrees Celsius) will feel pretty good compared to what’s ahead…

Mostly cloudy Saturday night, with lows in the mid-teens (-9 degrees Celsius).

Mostly cloudy and breezy on Sunday…a few flurries are possible.  Highs only in the low 20s (-5 degrees Celsius), and wind chills around 0 degrees (-18 degrees Celsius).  

By the way, these very cold temperatures will stick around through the middle of the coming week.  In fact, we could be close to our record low on Wednesday morning…stay tuned.