DETROIT – While most of us won’t have the white Christmas we want, I always say that if it’s not going to be white, it might as well be warm. And warm it is -- some parts of the area have already hit 50 degrees (10 degrees Celsius) this afternoon.
There really isn’t much rain in the area, most of us are dry, so it appears that we’ll have a mostly mild and dry Christmas Eve. However, rain will increase overnight, and many of us will receive between one-quarter and one-half inch of liquid snow by Christmas morning.
Temperatures will actually rise overnight, and many of us will be in the low 50s (10 to 11 degrees Celsius) when we wake up! Wind overnight won’t be a problem, shifting from the south to southwest at 5 to 10 mph.
This evening’s sunset is at 5:06 p.m., and Saturday morning’s sunrise is at 8:01 a.m.
Christmas Day
There will still be some showers around Christmas morning, but they will be moving out between late morning and early afternoon as a cold front crosses the area.
By mid-afternoon, we should all be dry, with temperatures falling from early morning readings in the low 50s (10 to 11 degrees Celsius) to the low-to-mid 40s (5 to 6 degrees Celsius) by late afternoon, and into the mid-to-upper 30s (3 to 4 degrees Celsius) by evening. Wind will shift from the southwest ahead of the front to the northwest behind the front, at 5 to 10 mph.
Mostly cloudy Saturday night, with lows in the low 30s (-1 degrees Celsius).
Partly cloudy on Sunday, with highs back closer to average…in the upper 30s (4 degrees Celsius).
The next system approaches later Sunday night into Monday. The computer models are not in agreement about the thermal structure of the atmosphere, so I’m not confident in the details as they pertain to how much of it will fall as snow, how much as a mix, and how much as rain.
I’ll keep you posted on Local 4, on our app, and on ClickOnDetroit.com through the weekend but, for now, be aware that travel could be a little tricky on Monday.
And just when you think it’s safe to come out of the house, a similar-looking system could impact us later Tuesday into Tuesday night. Stay tuned on that one, too.