This Should Have Been Up Yesterday

(Disclaimer:  This forecast was done on Saturday night, and should have gone up at that point in time.  Instead it didn't and I was off the grid yesterday. - Forecaster Mike)

Good Evening!

There are a few changes on the horizon here and elsewhere in the nation.  An Arctic Express invades the US from north of the border, and frigid temperatures settle into the nation's midsection, along with some heavy-duty snowfall.  The good news?  Michigan gets spared a lot of headache this go-round.  Time to pop the hood and have a look...

SUMMARY:  A good chunk of the nation's middle third gets shoved into the fridge or freezer as Old Man Winter makes his presence known, especially in the Dakotas and Minnesota.  Temperatures Monday and into Tuesday could stay below 15 degrees in the northern tier of states, from Montana to Wisconsin, with those frigid readings maybe grazing the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Cold air invades in force, sending temperatures for much of the nation plummeting.  The good news: daytime highs here stay in the 35-41 range over the next several days. This sounds cold compared to what we have had, but it is actually very seasonable.  Highs this time of year should be about 35, no more.  Now that we've set the table somewhat, with all the cold air and some moisture around, we'll talk about every forecaster's winter headache...

PRECIPITATION:  I was actually surprised to see some snow in the north zone of the blog that stuck to the pavement today, even if only briefly.  Clinton County picked up 1.5 inches of snow today!  We won't have to worry about brevity of snow sticking around for much longer, as we get deeper into December and the winter season, temperatures come down enough and solar heating wanes enough that if it falls, it sticks, either as snow or ice.  Thankfully, temperatures stay far enough above freezing that we shouldn't get any significant accumulations out of freezing precipitation.  That being said, counties on the west end of the forecast zones should keep an eye out for lake effect snow over the next few days.

The NWS thinks we come in at a quarter inch tops, and that doesn't look out of line to me.  Most places shouldn't pick up much of anything at all, and those that do see something falling should see it as rain initially, but I do think we get involved with a wintry mix tomorrow late and into Monday.  So far, I still like the whole little or no accumulation idea, but we'll need to revisit that later.  Right now, it looks like we start to see some rain after lunchtime, and as temperatures come down, some mixing into a touch of snow looks likely.

Let's take a look at the forecast for Jackson and surrounding areas including Leslie and Concord:

Tonight, we remove the mention of precipitation in the guise of a rain and snow mix, and just leave it cloudy and cold, lows near 29.  Wind NE 7-12 MPH.

Tomorrow, cloudy, seasonably cool, scattered to numerous showers should arrive around lunchtime and persist in periods through the day, high 40.  Winds becoming WSW 6-12 MPH.

Sunday night, still cloudy, a few snowflakes may mix in before everything starts to taper off after dinnertime, lows roll back to 33, winds W 7-12 MPH.

Monday, continued cloudy, just the mention of a possible stray shower or flurry, high only 38.  Wind turning N 5-10 MPH.

Monday night, cloudy skies and cold, lows dip all the way down to 24, winds NW 5-10 MPH, wind chills will dip near single digits.

Tuesday, periods of clouds with a few peeks of sun, colder, high 35.

Wednesday, continued partly sunny, a touch warmer, high 36.

Thursday, sunshine early, increasing clouds during the afternoon, milder, highs warm back up to 41.

Friday, a mix of clouds and sunshine, a lone shower or flurry can't be ruled out, high 40.

Saturday, cloudy skies, a chance of a few showers, high 43.

There's a look at your forecast for the next six days, I do hope that you have a great evening!  Blessings.