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Metro Detroit weather: More Arctic air moves in and could make for icy conditions this weekend

DETROIT – Patches of light rain and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 30s this afternoon may feel somewhat balmy compared to where we’ve been most of the past six weeks, but wait, yet another Arctic air mass is perched just to our northwest and will arrive tonight. The lead edge of that bitterly cold air, the cold front, will cross the area around midnight. At that point, any rain showers left in the area will transition to a few snow showers, and our wind will shift to the west and then to the northwest.

My biggest concern overnight is how quickly the temperature will drop because, if we go from above freezing to below freezing within two or three hours (which is possible), then there may not be enough time to evaporate water from the damp pavement, which would leave us with widespread ice on untreated surfaces around town. So if you remember anything from my weather article today, please remember this, watch out for ice when you head out this weekend, including on your sidewalk and driveway.

Once the temperature free-fall begins overnight, we’ll bottom out in the mid-teens (-11 to -9 degrees Celsius) by dawn, with wind chills likely between zero and five above (-18 to -15 degrees Celsius) due to the 10 to 15 mph wind.

This evening’s sunset is at 6:01 p.m., and Saturday morning’s sunrise is at 7:34 a.m.

Saturday

Saturday will be a dry day, with mostly just clouds around. But the Arctic air streaming in will only allow for a very modest temperature rise into the upper teens (-7 degrees Celsius), with afternoon wind chills in the single digits (-14 to -13 degrees Celsius) as the wind continues from the northwest at 10 to 15 mph. Bundle up if you’ll be heading out!

Saturday night will be dry, with some breaks in the overcast developing. Lows will be highly dependent upon the cloud cover. Right now, I think we’ll have more clouds than a clear sky, so I’m holding lows in the single digits (-15 to -14 degrees Celsius). However, if we manage to clear out for a few hours, it would not surprise me to see our colder rural areas get zero (-18 degrees Celsius).

Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday will be cloudy, with possible light afternoon snow showers. Highs will once again be in the upper teens (-7 degrees Celsius).

Next week

After another frigid day to start the week on Monday, a warming trend commences, and we’ll be in the mid-40s (7 to 8 degrees Celsius) by Wednesday. However, rain moves in Wednesday night into at least the first part of Thursday. And that’s where the forecast gets tricky, as some models transition the rain to snow before the moisture moves out, while others bring in the cold air after most of the moisture is gone. Depending on how the scenario plays out, this could be an impactful storm. Stay tuned.


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