Metro Detroit weather: Wind chill advisory, latest on Tuesday storm

Wind chill advisory issued for Metro Detroit

DETROIT – It is a cold start to the day, but you have not seen anything yet. Just wait until you read Sunday's forecast. 

Any leftover clouds this morning will quickly be scoured away by the incoming dry arctic air.  But any sun we get will be purely cosmetic with highs in the low to mid teens (-12 to -11 degrees Celsius), and wind chills between -5 and -10 degrees (-23 to -21 degrees Celsius).  

Up in the thumb, those lake effect snow bands will continue, with several inches of new snow possible for those of you unfortunate enough to be under one.  Accordingly, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory until 7 a.m. Monday for Sanilac and Huron counties.

Mostly clear and bitterly cold tonight.  Lows between zero and -10 (-21 to -18 degrees Celsius). Fortunately, Sunday’s breezy wind will lighten up, but even light wind generates bitter cold wind chills in temps this low, possibly down to -15 to -25 degrees (-32 to -26 degrees Celsius).  

The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory from 6 p.m. Sunday through noon Monday for the entire area.  

On the bright side, the clearing skies means that we will be able to see Sunday’s lunar eclipse.  This one is affectionately being called the “Super Blood Wolf Moon.”

Here is why:

'Super' because the moon is near the closest point in its orbit around earth and is a little bigger in the sky.  'Blood' because it turns a brownish-reddish color at maximum eclipse. 'Wolf' because January’s full moon is the wolf moon.

The entire eclipse runs from 10:34 p.m. to 1:51 a.m., and totality is from 11:41 p.m. to 12:43 p.m.  You don’t need a telescope or binocular and it is safe to view without any eye protection, unlike solar eclipses.  

So what is happening?  Quite simply, earth will be exactly between the moon and the sun with the moon passing right through the earth’s shadow.  While lunar eclipses aren’t rare, they aren’t common, either. The last one was in September 2015, and the next one won’t be until May 2021.  It’ll be cold outside, but it’s worth stepping out even for a moment and taking a look!

MORE: How to see the total lunar eclipse, super blood moon Sunday night

The holiday, then the next storm

Monday, the Martin Luther King holiday, will be dry, with mostly sunny skies, but highs once again only in the low to mid teens (-12 to -11 degrees Celsius).  Any wind at all, of course, will drive wind chills back down to zero (-18 degrees Celsuis) or below.

Tuesday starts dry, but precipitation develops late.  Right now, it looks like a close call with snow arriving either around or just after the afternoon rush hour.  Any accumulations should be minor, as the snow will transition briefly to some ice, and then to rain and most of Tuesday night should be rain.  

This will be a big snow storm for the northern half of the lower peninsula. Rain continues into Wednesday morning, before a cold front crosses the area and kicks out the rain, but also drops our afternoon temperatures.

Finally, the super long range computer models show another arctic air mass invading the Great Lakes next weekend.  Winter is here.