4Warn Weather – The nation is watching a powerful winter storm bringing wind, snow and cold to the Plains and the far Western Great Lakes area today. That arctic air will be moving our way late Thursday and Friday, so this is the last full day to safely get everything done if you can before the storm hits Metro Detroit.
High temperatures will be in the low-to-middle 30s this Wednesday with light winds moving NW to ENE at 5-12 mph. Eventually our skies will become mostly cloudy to overcast late today, thanks to debris clouds from this dangerous winter storm approaching Metro Detroit.
UPDATED: Updated winter storm snow predictions, timeline for Metro Detroit: In-depth forecast, analysis
UPDATED: Winter storm warning issued for SE Michigan for heavy snow, dangerous winds
Storm starts with rain Thursday
Thursday will start cloudy and mostly dry with morning temps in the upper 20s to near 30F.
There is a chance for some light snow and/or a wintry mix in the early-to-mid-afternoon. Still, most of the moisture should move in after 5 p.m. as mainly rain. Most of Metro Detroit will have rain showers through the evening hours and early overnight, and that’s when things will start to turn nasty and treacherous around here.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for all of Metro Detroit starting late Thursday going all the way into Saturday morning. It’s a triple threat of dangerous cold, winds capable of power outages, and considerable snow in parts of the area. Ultimately, this may even get upgraded to a Blizzard Warning for us.
Stay tuned.
Snow comes Friday
The worst of the weather heading our way is Friday, both in the morning and throughout the afternoon. There is an arctic cold front moving in behind some of the rain, which means we could see some freezing rain or ice well before sunrise on Friday. Eventually everything everywhere is snow, heavy snow, and blowing snow but that might start on top of a thin layer of ice.
The winds will become the most dangerous component to watch, because we could see gusts of 50-60 mph, especially Friday afternoon and evening. Those gusts could cause sporadic power outages.
These strong winds from the west southwest will create some ferocious snow bands and squalls that will up the snow totals in certain parts of our area. Right now, the highest accumulating snows will spread across Northern Jackson and Washtenaw counties into Livingston and northern Oakland counties both Friday and Saturday.
It’s still too early to break down snow totals due to the rainy start and the setup of those lake effect snow bands. Any way you slice it, you should avoid traveling Friday and the first half of Saturday, if you can. Travel at your own risk.
We will be watching this storm like a hawk and continue to keep you up to speed.
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