DETROIT – It’s been another windy day, with gusts between 20 and 30 mph common across the area.
The wind will gradually lighten up Wednesday night and eventually blow from the west or southwest at 5 to 10 mph. Afternoon clouds will gradually break up overnight.
Recommended Videos
It won’t be a fast, dramatic clearing but, rather, a gradually occurring process. Expect lows near 30 degrees or in the low 30s (-1 to 0 degrees Celsius).
Thursday
Partly cloudy to mostly sunny with much lighter wind on Thursday, this will be our best weather day of the next seven. Highs will be in the mid-40s (7 to 8 degrees Celsius), with a west wind at 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday’s sunrise is at 7:15 a.m., and Thursday’s sunset is at 5:19 p.m.
We'll see increasing clouds Thursday night, with a few raindrops or wet snowflakes late at night. Lows will be in the low to mid-30s (0 to 1 degree Celsius).
Friday
Rain and wet snow increase on Friday.
While the basic scenario of this approaching system is getting better handled by the computer models, there are still some small-scale details that likely won’t be resolved until Thursday. Our high-resolution in-house RPM model (you can see those maps below) suggests that the southeastern part of our area from Detroit southward could stay all rain, while our northern and western suburbs get mostly snow -- but the exact location of that rain/snow line can’t be precisely determined this far in advance.
Something else important to consider is that the ground isn’t frozen yet, and air temperatures will be above freezing. So actual snow accumulation on the roads is unlikely, unless the snow happens to come down heavy enough that it overwhelms the pavement temperature and forms some slush.
Grass and elevated surfaces (such as decks, mailboxes and barbecue grills), however, could see some of the snow accumulate. By day’s end, some of us will have a white landscape to look at! High temperatures Friday should be in the low to mid-40s (7 degrees Celsius).
Rain and snow diminish Friday night, although a trough of low pressure (basically, a cold front that didn’t graduate from cold front school) swinging down late at night could trigger one more round of snow showers. Expect lows in the mid-20s (-3 degrees Celsius).
Weekend
After that possible line of snow showers first thing Saturday morning, the snow should be done and we’ll just have a windy remainder of the day, with some sunshine developing. Highs should only reach the mid-30s (2 degrees Celsius).
If you’ll be tailgating and at the big game in East Lansing on Saturday, be prepared for wind chills in the low to mid-20s (-5 degrees Celsius). It probably won’t make you feel any better knowing that our average high this time of year is in the low 50s (11 degrees Celsius).
It will become mostly clear Saturday night, with lows in the mid-20s (-4 degrees Celsius).
It will be partly cloudy on Sunday, with highs in the upper 30s (3 to 4 degrees Celsius).
The next system comes in early next week with another snow chance!