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5-9 inches of snow possible Friday in parts of Metro Detroit -- timing, expected totals by county

Glaze of ice also possible in spots

Winter storm watch (WDIV)

4Warn Weather – Some parts of Metro Detroit could receive 5-9 inches of snow on Friday, but there might also be some rain -- here’s a breakdown of the timing and what to expect.

Friday rain, snow

Models are coming into better agreement on the solution for Friday, but because we’re on that border of rain and snow, there are still some differences. As a result, impacts and uncertainties are still there, to a degree.

Precipitation will arrive south of I-94 later Friday morning, perhaps as a rain-snow mix. It will continue to push north, and as it does, almost all of what falls will be snow.

This will continue through Friday afternoon. In the later afternoon/early evening, some rain will try to mix in, mainly south of I-94 and as far northeast as Detroit.

In the evening, precipitation will be snow before it all ends after midnight.

Expected snow totals

There’s some uncertainty in terms of snow totals and impact, but here are some expected totals:

  • Washtenaw, Livingston, Oakland, Genesee, Lapeer and Sanilac counties: 5-9 inches of snow (with the higher totals to the northwest).
  • Monroe, Wayne and Macomb counties: 1-5 inches of snow (with the higher totals to the northwest).
  • A glaze of ice is also possible, mainly south of I-94.

Snow will be the dominant precipitation type during this event.

Livingston, Oakland, Genesee, Lapeer, and Sanilac counties will get the highest snowfall totals, and there’s high confidence that it will be an all-snow event in those areas.

Since the timing is expected to be later morning through the evening, the morning drive should be OK. The evening commute could be difficult for drivers.

It’s unclear how much rain, if any, will creep into the area. We’re leaning towards some, but still expecting most of what falls to be snow. Due to the uncertainty of how far north the rain will go, there is some uncertainty as to how much snow will fall in these areas.

There’s also a chance of a light glaze of ice in those transition areas, but that’s a very hyperlocal feature in this event.

Light rain-snow mix Saturday evening

Models are now hinting that we might get clipped by a light rain-snow mix late Saturday into early Sunday.

We’re expecting little to no impacts from this.

Rain chances return Monday

On Monday of next week, we’re still on track for another system.

The latest models suggest we’ll be warm enough for this to be an all-rain event, but this may require some tweaking over the next couple of days.


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