DETROIT – It looks like our weekend snow will top totals from our last accumulation, and we’ll see the last of the bitter cold Friday night as temperatures rise ahead of the snowfall.
Dry Saturday
Bright Friday skies will stay mainly clear after the sun sets, allowing temperatures to retreat to some of our coldest numbers this season.
The good news is that Saturday morning’s lows will be the coldest we’ll have to endure through the entire forecast. Daylight hours will remain dry, with snow beginning in the late evening in the South Zone, but mainly overnight.
Snowy Sunday
Accumulations will really pile up through the morning and early afternoon Sunday. In fact, the bulk of the totals we’re expecting will be on the ground before sunset Sunday evening -- at least for most of us.
The core of this system will remain to our south, so areas closest to the center of that low, like the South Zone and east side of the Metro Zone, will continue to add to those numbers Sunday evening, too. The snow showers elsewhere will be lighter and more intermittent.
Lake-effect Monday
Winds will come from the northeast Monday, tapping into moisture and energy from Lake Huron. Expect more snow accumulation, especially in the North Zone.
That will last throughout the day and overnight into Tuesday. Winds will finally shift more to the northwest Tuesday morning, cutting off the lake-snow machine and giving us the checkered flag to shovel, plow and snow blow what the system left behind.
Bottom line
Total accumulation will be in the 3-6 inch range for the majority of the area. The higher end of that range will be south and east, including the city of Detroit, with lowest numbers north and west.
We expect parts of the South Zone to see 6-8 inches, especially southern Monroe County.
Track the radar: