4Warn Weather – How likely are school closings in Metro Detroit on Friday as another round of precipitation moves in?
Rain arrives on Thursday, and temperatures will plummet at night and into Friday, which could cause some problems on the commute to work or school on Friday morning.
School Closing Prediction
Right now, I am keeping the chance for school closings on Friday, December 19th, 2025, at a Moderate Chance for school closings, as this is a tricky situation, and here’s why:
- Rain will fall for most of the day on Thursday, with high temperatures into the 40s to near 50°
- Once the cold front moves through, temperatures will fall fast, and we will go well below freezing overnight into Friday morning
- Any water on the roads will more than likely freeze, and we will have some icy conditions on the roads due to a flash freeze
- In addition, some roads outside of Metro Detroit in more rural areas may still have snow/ice pack on them from the heavy, wet snow we had last week. Once you add more water to that, then falling temperatures, that also could create problems on roads as well
With that in mind, Friday is also the last day of school for most school systems before we head into Christmas/Winter Vacation, so based on this forecast, it might be an early start to the school break for some school districts across Southeastern Michigan!
Forecast Highlights:
- Thursday Morning: Rain showers develop, gusty winds increase
- Thursday Afternoon/Evening: A gusty line of rain showers moves into the metro between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM with the cold front, temperatures begin to fall, and winds gusting 35-40 MPH.
- Thursday Night: Rain changes to snow, temperatures continue to fall into the 20s overnight. Winds remain gusty.
- Friday: Scattered snow showers for the first half of the day behind the cold front. Gusty winds continue. Temperatures into the 20s, wind chills into the teens.
4Warn Weather Alert Declared
Due to the potential impacts of this strong system from Thursday and into Friday, we have declared a 4Warn Weather Alert for Thursday Night and Friday Morning due to the drastically changing weather conditions from Thursday and into Friday, due to the potential for a flash freeze, and the chance for some snow showers and gusty winds behind the cold front, which would only aggravate any icy road conditions that develop due to the flash freeze.
Stay with WDIV Local 4 News and 4Warn Weather, we’ll keep you ahead of the changing weather conditions over the next few days!