Freezing rain expected: update on ice and snow accumulation, temperature may not warm

The weather system is going to southern Michigan as of midday today. Here’s a look at how much ice and snow should accumulate. In addition, previously it seemed that temperatures could rise above zero in southern Lower Michigan. Now it seems that temperatures can be stubbornly cold.

Below is the radar forecast. Precipitation will spread across the southern half of Lower Michigan this afternoon. The purple shaded area is a prediction of freezing rain. The areas shaded in pink can be snow, hail or freezing rain.

The southern third of Lower Michigan will have mostly freezing rain. The northern edge of the climate will be hail and snow. This means that the southern half of Lower Michigan will have dangerous road conditions in the winter from this afternoon until tonight, and possibly early Saturday morning.

Below is the total ice accumulation predicted for the end of precipitation at 4 am on Saturday.

The Lansing and Jackson areas appear to be in the heaviest area of ​​freezing rain, with amounts of ice between two tenths and four tenths of an inch. All major cities, from Saginaw and Grand Rapids to the south to the Ohio and Indiana border, can have up to a tenth of an inch of ice. This includes the Detroit and Ann Arbor area.

This is not a major ice storm status, but certainly enough for dangerous road conditions and some large limbs knocked over by transmission lines.

Flint, Alma and Grand Rapids will have more of a mix than an event of pure freezing rain. Look for snow, sleet and freezing rain. Below is the snowfall forecast of the model I most trust in this situation. Let’s call it a 5 to 12 cm snow in downtown Lower Michigan.

Yesterday there was hope that temperatures would reach 34 degrees in the southern half of Lower Michigan, helping to melt the ice buildup. Today everything shows a slightly colder temperature pattern. Below I am showing the times when the temperatures will be warmer. You can see that the freezing line is just south, almost on the Ohio border. The southeastern tip, Detroit and Ann Arbor, can heat up to 33 or 34 degrees at the end of the night, helping to improve the main roads. Elsewhere, it will stay below zero. Any improvements to the roads will have to be made with salt and Saturday sun.

Therefore, precipitation starts this afternoon and ends at 4 am tomorrow. It may be necessary to wait until the sun rises in the sky on Saturday morning and the salt is thrown on the roads before driving becomes safer.

It may be 9 or 10 am on Saturday before interstates and major highways improve dramatically. But don’t wait until Sunday to drive, because the next snow system will be here on Sunday. By the way, if you read the linked article on Sunday’s snow, it looks like the European has a better idea, based on the latest models.