DETROIT – A winter weather advisory is in effect for Lenawee, Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne counties from 12 midnight, tonight, to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Welcome to Saturday night, Motown.
Snow is steadily marching toward the Motor City area. It remains cold and cloudy before midnight. The first snowflakes begin falling and move from south to north after midnight. Significant snow accumulation will already be on the ground when we wake up, tomorrow morning. It will be snowy nearly all-day, Sunday. Lake effect snow adds an extra layer, Monday.
Snow’s arrival
Saturday night will be snowy across Detroit and the rest of southeast Michigan shortly after midnight and through Sunday morning. Overnight lows will be in the middle 20s.
Snow will be migrating from south to north overnight. After our South Zone, Detroit and Ann Arbor roads become more slippery, then areas north of Eight Mile Road become snowier in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday. The cities of Flint, Lapeer and Port Huron will have snow falling by breakfast Sunday.
Sunday will be snowy and cold. Snow will fall hardest, Sunday morning. Light to moderate snow will fall consistently late Sunday morning and most of the afternoon. Snow becomes a bit more scattered late Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening. Highs will be in the low 30s.
Snow totals
Sunday night becomes less snowy, but it remains cold -- so roads remain treacherous. Two to five inches will have fallen south of 8 Mile Road; basically, neighborhoods along I-94 from Detroit to Garden City to Ann Arbor to Chelsea and south of I-94. One to three inches will pile up between 8 Mile and I-69; Howell to Pontiac to Mt. Clemens and farther north for communities such as Oxford, Lapeer and Port Huron.
Monday, the wind direction switches and blows from the north because of the counter-clockwise circulation around the area of low pressure. The wind off Lake Huron, which is mostly liquid, will deliver lake effect snow showers and snow squalls on Monday.
Accumulations will be greater where snow begins first. Neighborhoods south of I-94 will receive a two-day total of four to six inches of snow; isolates spots, over six inches. From I-94 (to the south) and M-59 (to the north), Detroit, Westland, Ann Arbor to Howell, Pontiac, Shelby Township and Mt. Clemens will get two to four inches. One to two or three inches of snow will fall north of M-59. Some areas of The Thumb will hardly see any measurable snow accumulation at all.
Highs will be near 30 degrees Monday afternoon as lake effect snow adds an additional one to three inches of snow across most of the area.
Tuesday and Wednesday will be sunnier and will give Detroiters time to clean up and recover. Remember not to overexert yourself. Pace yourself and take frequent breaks while removing snow and ice. Highs will be in the low 30s, mid-week, with mostly to partly sunny skies.
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