Metro Detroit weather update: A few snowflakes this weekend, no warm-ups in sight

The weekend snow model for Southeast Michigan, as of Jan. 19, 2022. (WDIV)

DETROIT – Here is the Metro Detroit weather forecast update for Jan. 19, 2022, afternoon and evening.

No warm-ups in sight

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  • We’ve managed to sneak into the lower 40s on Wednesday afternoon, but say goodbye as the cold takes back over.
  • Temperatures overnight drop into the teens, but wind chills will be near zero (in the Metro and South zones, and below zero in the West and North zones).
  • We’re steady in the 20s for highs for the foreseeable future.

Few snowflakes this weekend

  • Long-range models are still a little split on what we’ll get Saturday night into Sunday, but it looks like we’ll get a light accumulation of a few tenths of an inch -- perhaps a touch more in a few spots.

Better chance for snow early next week

  • Long-range models continue to spit out different solutions between different runs, meaning there’s a good deal of question as to what transpires Monday into Tuesday.
  • A low will drop down from the Dakotas during this time period, but the exact track of this low is still very much in question.
  • As a result, it’s uncertain how much snow we’ll get. But it’s safe to say we’ll have to move some snow.

Cold headlines

  • Normal low at 18 degrees (Jan. 20)
    • The normal low is at 18 degrees as of Thursday. This is the coldest normal low that we see in a calendar years.
  • Coldest temperature in Detroit history (Jan. 21)
    • On Jan 21, 1984, we hit -21 degrees, marking the coldest temperature in Detroit history.
  • Coldest normal high of the year (Jan. 22)
    • Saturday is the coldest normal high that we see, at 31.8 degrees.
    • The National Weather Service likes to round up normals to whole numbers for climatological purposes, but when you look at the numbers down to tenths, the coldest is 31.8 degrees.
  • Coldest temperature in United States history (Jan. 23)
    • Sunday is the anniversary of the coldest temperature recorded in U.S. history.
    • Prospect Creek, Alaska, dropped to -80 degrees back on Jan 23, 1971.



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