DETROIT – School closings and dangerous driving conditions are possible Friday in Metro Detroit because of precipitation and a rapid change in temperatures.
For many school districts, Friday, Dec. 19, is the last official day of school before winter break. But there’s a chance some schools will decide to cancel classes that day.
Warm temperatures, rain midweek
Southeast Michigan is seeing temperatures around 40 degrees on Wednesday, and those numbers will likely rise into the upper 40s on Thursday.
But that comes with rain that becomes widespread across the area by late Thursday morning or around lunchtime.
We’re expecting a quarter-inch to a half-inch of rainfall. That, along with melting snow due to the rain and temperatures, could cause some pooling of water on roadways and other surfaces.
The rain is expected to continue until a lull in the late evening, possibly around 9 or 10 p.m. Thursday.
Temperature drop creates ice risk
Close to midnight Thursday into Friday, temperatures will cause rain to change to snowfall. In fact, there’s a chance of a flash freeze because temperatures will go from the upper 40s to the 20s in the matter of hours.
The water that’s on the roads will freeze.
Snowfall
We aren’t expecting much snow -- likely just a coating.
Whatever snow we do get will be scattered, and it’ll be there by the time Metro Detroiters wake up on Friday morning.
Since this snowfall is scattered, it won’t be an issue for everyone in the area.
Why this could cause school closings, dangerous roads
The water that’s on the roads from the rain and the melted snow will freeze quickly when the temperatures drop overnight.
Then, even a dusting of snow would be enough to cover up that ice and make it difficult to see or predict.
Another concern is that the roads can’t be pre-treated because of the steady rainfall throughout the day Thursday. If officials tried to salt the roads, it would be washed away.
So that could make driving conditions even more hazardous.
If there’s a lot of ice on the roads, that will be difficult for school buses to handle, so some districts might decide to cancel on Friday.
Ice on power lines isn’t a major concern because precipitation isn’t expected to fall as freezing rain. The water will already be on the ground by the time it’s freezing.
We’re also expecting wind gusts of 30-40 mph.
As always, the 4Warn Weather team will continue to monitor this forecast over the next 36 hours and provide updates online, on Local 4+, and on Local 4 News.