DETROIT – Our evening rain and snow won’t be a big deal going into Tuesday, but the weather will have a major impact going into the Christmas holidays.
Evening mix
Some rain and some snow showers will linger through midnight. Beyond that, we’ll be dry overnight. Amounts will be on the light side, and not that intense, so even the places that see snow should stay under a half-inch of accumulation.
Most of us will just end up with wet sidewalks and driveways. Temperatures have been firmly above freezing Monday afternoon. That should continue to the be the case overnight, at least in the Metro Zone.
Slick spots are possible starting Tuesday morning, especially for early risers.
Christmas switch
Tuesday will be a calm, mild break before things get very active for the second half of the week.
Our big player arrives Wednesday, with evening rain coming on the heels of a windy and relatively warm finish. Expect highs in the upper 40s with wind gusts topping 30 mph.
Rain transitions to snow overnight, leaving up to an inch on the ground for Christmas Eve. As that system exits Thursday, wind speeds increase leading to some lake-effect snow showers by evening and again for much of Christmas Day.
If you’re under one of these lake-effect bands, its certainly possible to pick up a quick 1–2 inches of snow. But adding up the system snow from Wednesday and the sporadic lake-effect snow showers on Dec. 24-25, it’s certainly possible some of us could see a white Christmas, but it will be close.
One thing everyone will get is cold. Temperatures will be at their coldest of the season on Christmas Day. Highs both Thursday and Friday will be in the 20s, with lows in the teens. Add the brisk winds and wind chills will drop to single digits at times.
We start recovering by the weekend, with highs in the low 30s Saturday, making modest gains into next week.
Track the radar: