DETROIT – One of the harshest weeks of winter weather that we’ve seen in the past 25 years is underway.
Snow began to fall this morning and it appears from reports that an average of 3 inches of snow has fallen across the Metro Detroit area with 4-inch amounts north of I-69.
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The snow will wind down this evening, but areas south of 8 Mile Road could possibly see a brief transition to rain before this all moves out. That obviously cuts back on snow totals. Those who stay all snow could see another inch or two of snow but more near and north of I-69.
Temperatures overnight will drop into the mid-teens (-9 degrees Celsius), but southwest winds at 15 to 25 mph will push wind chills down to around zero (-18 degrees Celsius) by dawn.
NOTE: A wind chill watch has been issued for Genesse, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Sanilac, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties until 11 a.m. Thursday.
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Tuesday
Partial sunshine Tuesday will be purely cosmetic, as temperatures hold nearly steady in the morning, and then fall into the upper single digits (-13 degrees Celsius) by the time most people head home from work.
Southwest winds at 15 to 20 mph, combined with falling temperatures, will drop the wind chill to around -15 degrees (-26 degrees Celsius) by late afternoon. Adding insult to injury is that there could be a few scattered snow showers Tuesday -- most numerous north of I-69.
Tuesday’s sunrise is at 7:50 a.m., and Tuesday’s sunset is at 5:44 p.m.
It will become partly cloudy Tuesday night, with scattered snow showers, and dangerously cold.
Temperatures crash to around -9 degrees (-23 degrees Celsius), with wind chills by dawn Wednesday of -30 to -40 degrees (-40 to -34 degrees Celsius). In case you didn’t notice, -40 degrees is the only temperature that is identical on the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales!
Wednesday
It will be partly sunny Wednesday with scattered snow showers still possible. The high should remain below zero, perhaps topping out at -3 degrees (-19 degrees Celsius), with wind chills around -30 degrees (-34 degrees Celsius) all day.
Most schools will be closed this day due to the severe cold. This will be our coldest day since Jan. 19, 1994, when our high was -4 degrees (-20 degrees Celsius), and our low was -20 degrees (-29 degrees Celsius).
It will become partly cloudy Wednesday night, with lows around -13 degrees (-25 degrees Celsius). Wind chill will once again drop to between -30 and -40 degrees (-34 to -40 degrees Celsius).
Thursday
Skies will be cloudy Thursday, with highs around 1 degrees (-17 degrees Celsius). It’ll be interesting to see if we get above zero this day -- if not, then we could be facing one of our longest stretches of consecutive below-zero hours in recorded Detroit weather history. Once again, most schools will be closed this day due to the severe cold.
Expect it to be partly cloudy Thursday night, with lows around -6 degrees (-21 degrees Celsius), and wind chills rising to -10 degrees (-23 degrees Celsius) by dawn Friday.
Friday
Skies will be partly cloudy Friday, with the wind finally letting up. Highs are expected in the mid-teens (-9 degrees Celsius).
Weekend warm-up
It will be mostly sunny Saturday -- a fantastic day to head down to Winter Blast or just to hit the slopes.
Highs will be around 32 degrees (0 degrees Celsius) and will feel pretty nice!
Skies will be cloudy Sunday, with rain -- that’s right, rain -- developing.
Highs will be in the low 40s (5 degrees Celsius).