DETROIT – Super early birds encountered a messy Monday morning commute in the Detroit Area. Snow then sleet and freezing rain fell early, creating a slippery layer of snow and ice. The frozen precipitation caused a traffic nightmare in and around metro Detroit.
The thermometer will creep above 32 degrees after 8 a.m., but thawing will be slow and not occurring across all of Southeast Michigan simultaneously. Some neighborhoods will experience melting later than others. Therefore, people must drive defensively even if their thermometers have readings in the middle 30s.
Once the sunrises, periodic rain will fall the rest of the morning as temps rise into the 40s by lunchtime. Monday afternoon will have highs near 50.
Warm air remains over the Motown Area Monday night and Tuesday. Overnight lows will be near 40. Tuesday will have highs in the middle 50s. There is a good chance of tying or breaking the nearly one hundred year old record high of 58 degrees set in 1914. However, skies will be mostly gray with rain showers Monday night and Tuesday.
Tuesday night, Wednesday and the rest of the week will have a re-invasion of very cold air. Tuesday night and Wednesday will have falling temps from 40 into the 30s and scattered snow showers. Wednesday night into the weekend will have highs in the low and middle 20s and lows in the low teens and single digits with wind chills near zero.
Stay buckled in to Detroit's weather roller coaster on the Weather Page of ClickOnDetroit.com and on Local 4 News.