That sunshine sure looked (and even felt) great today. Don’t get used to it, though, as clouds will increase and thicken overnight.
Light snow should approach the area late at night, but it’s possible that some of us will get through the morning rush hour without too much trouble…it’ll be close, with increasing chances for a dry morning rush the farther north you are.
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Lows should drop to around 20 degrees (-7 degrees Celsius), in the middle of the night, then level off and perhaps even rise toward dawn with the increasing clouds. East-northeast wind at 4 to 7 mph.
Wednesday forecast
Snow overspreads the area Wednesday morning, then begins a change to freezing rain that will spread from south to north through the day, followed by a change to just plain rain as temperatures rise above freezing.
Areas to the south will see the transition first, while areas to the north hold onto the snow and ice the longest before changing over. Highs should eventually reach the mid 30s (3 degrees Celsius) by early evening, with an east wind at 8 to 13 mph.
As far as accumulations are concerned, the snow looks to be an inch or less for most of us.
Meanwhile, the ice looks to be one-tenth of an inch or less for most of us…that’s the best news of all.
Based upon all of this, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the entire area except Sanilac County, with the advisory timing of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. south of 8 Mile, and 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. north of 8 Mile.
Untreated roads will become quite slippery until temperatures rise above freezing, at which point they will become slushy.
Here is a series of maps from our in-house high resolution RPM model showing you the progression of Wednesday’s precipitation:
Wednesday’s sunrise is at 7:23 a.m., and Wednesday’s sunset is at 6:12 p.m.
Rain showers end by midnight as the approaching front passes by, and we’ll be dry the remainder of the night. Lows in the low 30s (0 degrees Celsius).
Thursday forecast
Mostly cloudy skies will start our Thursday, with increasing sunshine during the day. Highs in the upper 30s (4 degrees Celsius) means that it’ll be a nice winter day.
Becoming mostly clear Thursday night, with lows in the low 20s (-6 degrees Celsius).
Friday
Mostly sunny on Friday…another nice winter day…with highs in the upper 30s (4 degrees Celsius).
Increasing clouds Friday night, with lows in the mid 20s (-3 to -2 degrees Celsius).
The weekend storm
Today’s long range models are showing remarkable consistency with the handling of a powerful storm crossing the Great Lakes this weekend. This one will pass to our west and north, meaning that we’ll tap significantly into the storm’s warmer air surge.
Saturday will start dry, but rain showers will develop during the day (perhaps a brief wintry mix far north, then changing to rain). Highs will reach the mid 40s (7 to 8 degrees Celsius).
Rain and possible thunderstorms are likely Saturday night, with lows in the upper 30s (4 degrees Celsius). Over an inch of rain is possible, which could lead to some flooding since the ground is frozen and cannot soak up any of that water.
Rain showers Sunday morning will end, with some lake effect snow showers possible by mid to late afternoon. Highs will reach the mid to upper 40s (8 to 9 degrees Celsius), then start falling by mid-afternoon.
Wind could become quite strong…perhaps necessitating a Wind Advisory or High Wind Warning…stay tuned – this will probably be the biggest weather story of the weekend.