DETROIT – A cold front crossed the area today, and what a difference it made.
Once the front passed by, temperatures dropped, and wind increased…with gusts above 40 mph. Those changes also energized the Lake Michigan lake effect machine, and snow has been crossing the state and falling across mainly the northern half of our area this afternoon.
The wind will diminish to just breezy conditions overnight, and should eventually blow in the range of 15 to 25 mph. There will still be some snow and snow showers around, and temperatures will fall into the mid-teens (-9 degrees Celsius), then perhaps rise a couple of degrees late at night.
This evening’s sunset is at 5:16 p.m., and Thursday morning’s sunrise is at 8:02 a.m.
Mostly cloudy on Thursday, and our prospects for snow depend mightily upon the wind direction we have. Unfortunately, the computer models disagree on the exact wind vector so, while most of them generate a sinewy lake effect snow band, they disagree upon where that band will set up.
The snow band should show up well on the Local4Casters app’s real-time radar, so keep an eye on that if you plan to be out and about, as those under this persistent band could see a dusting to around an inch of snow. Meanwhile, the rest of us won’t see much.
Related: 🔒 January 1999: When a record snowstorm slammed southern Michigan
Thursday and Friday
Highs Thursday are another story…only reaching the mid 20s (-4 degrees Celsius) for highs, but the wind chills ranging from 5 degrees (-15 degrees Celsius) at daybreak to 13 degrees (-11 degrees Celsius) in the afternoon due to west-southwest to west-northwest winds at 8 to 13 mph.
Becoming partly cloudy Thursday night, with lows in the low teens (-12 to -11 degrees Celsius).
We should get plenty of sunshine to end the first work week of 2022, with highs Friday in the low-to-mid 20s (-5 degrees Celsius).
Mostly clear Friday night, with lows in the low-to-mid teens (-12 to -11 degrees Celsius).
Weekend outlook
Increasing clouds on Saturday, but I think the daylight hours will remain dry. Highs moderating back into the mid 30s (2 degrees Celsius) during the afternoon, but then rising into the night.
It appears that either light rain showers, or perhaps a mix, will move in Saturday night, with temperatures rising into the upper 30s (3 to 4 degrees Celsius) by dawn Sunday.
A cold front Sunday morning will end the rain showers, but also drop temperatures into the low 30s (0 degrees Celsius) by the end of the afternoon. It’ll become breezy as well, so that’ll make it feel even colder.
You can view the interactive, real-time radar below.
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