DETROIT – Changes are coming for our Christmas forecast, but only for the snow part. The cold and wind are still on their way.
Mild holiday start
Temperatures topped out close to 50 degrees Wednesday afternoon, and that mild push will keep precipitation almost all liquid Wednesday night.
Rain is expected through the evening and overnight. By the time temperatures drop enough to change precipitation to snow, most of the moisture will be gone. A snow shower can’t be ruled out around sunrise Thursday, but anything that shows up should be minimal with no accumulation.
After a dry remainder of the morning, we might see a lake-effect snow shower Thursday afternoon, but better snow chances will return Friday.
The same system that is bringing rain Wednesday night will show us its backside Friday and potentially deliver 1-2 inches of snow to the east side. However, we’re right on the edge, so it won’t take much to change the forecast completely.
Other locations will see lake-effect snow showers for the second half of Christmas Day. That could result in accumulation of more than an inch, but only under persistent bands. The majority of us will see less than an inch of accumulation.
Coldest of season
If you’re not planning to roast chestnuts by an open fire, you might want to rethink that -- at least the open fire part. Frigid temperatures will get everyone over the next couple days. After a morning high in the mid-30s Thursday, temperatures will continually drop over a 30 hour period, until the mercury hits the mid-teens on Christmas morning. Wind chills will be in single digits at that point and recover only to the teens by afternoon.
Weekend recovery
Temperatures will return to near normal Saturday and slightly above that mark Sunday.
It won’t be warm enough to avoid some snow with the rain expected Monday, however.
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