Accumulate snow on the way

DETROIT Good Monday morning!

Today’s sunrise was at 6:46 AM

A cold front – the front of a much colder air mass – will approach our area later in the day. In anticipation of the front, the morning sun will raise the temperature to almost 60 degrees by noon. Temperatures will start to drop in the western part of our area during the afternoon, reaching the low to mid 60’s in the east. Scattered light rain showers will also develop for the front this afternoon. Southwesterly winds at 10 to 20 mph will shift westward after the front passes.

The sunset is on Monday at 8:20 PM

Showers will end after the frontal passage, so we’ll be dry Monday night and temperatures drop to the mid-30’s by Tuesday morning. Northwesterly winds blow at 5 to 10 mph.

We start our Tuesday dry, then in the afternoon there will be light rain and possibly some wet snow. Treble will only reach the low to mid 40s.

Advertisement

Solar radiation (even with the clouds) prevents snow build-up during the daylight hours on Tuesdays. However, once we lose that radiation and the temperatures cool down on Tuesday night, we’ll see a switch to all snow, and it can get moderate to heavy at times. Keep in mind that snow build-up will occur very quickly on grass and raised surfaces, such as decks, patio furniture and barbecues, but will initially melt on pavement as the surface temperature is well above freezing. Over time, the snow will cool the sidewalk and a muddy buildup will start there.

There are still some important differences in the computer models, but I think I have a fair understanding of how this will play out: the heaviest snow falls over the southeast half of the area, expect between 3 and 5 inches of snow on raised surfacesWe won’t see much on the sidewalk, but it will still be messy driving later Tuesday night. In the northwestern part of the area, the amount of snow will decrease rapidly as you continue northwest, with areas from Sanilac County to Lansing getting very little snow.

Advertisement

Another important part of the Tuesday night forecast is that the low temperatures will drop to nearly 30 degrees. As I warned a few weeks ago, the early spring heat can feel nice, but this starts the growing season too early, which can be negatively affected by subsequent freezes. And that’s what we get Tuesday night and Wednesday night.

Wednesday itself will start mostly cloudy and then turn partly cloudy with peaks in the mid 1940s. Wednesday evenings will be mostly clear, with lows in the mid twentieth century.

Thursdays mostly sunny to partly cloudy, with highs in the low to mid 50s. Thursday nights will be mostly clear, with lows in the mid 1930s.

On Fridays it is mostly sunny to partly cloudy, with highs in the low 60s.

Saturday starts dry, after which rain may occur in the afternoon. The highest notes will be around 60 degrees.

On Sunday it will be partly cloudy, with peaks close to 60 degrees.

Advertisement

Don’t forget to download Local4Casters’ FREE weather app – it’s easily one of the best in the country. Just search your app store under WDIV and it’s available there for both iPhones and Androids! Or click on the appropriate link below.