Cloudy & Seasonable - Stormy Waters Ahead

Good Morning!

We had a bit of sunshine grace us with it's presence in the area yesterday, with temperatures hovering between 28 and freezing.  Clouds returned and they are still there right now.  Time for a deeper dive to see what's going on:

SUMMARY:  Not a whole lot in process at the moment.  Seasonably cold air in the base of a trough working through the area for the next day or so.  Some northwest wind off Lake Michigan has cranked up the lake effect snow machine, so we will have to keep watch on that.  The next big weather maker comes in here from almost due south on Tuesday, and early indications are that he is ready to wreak some havoc.  Temperatures remain above freezing and climb well into the 30's by midweek...about the time that storm should be getting here.  We stay in the 30's until the weekend, with just a few peeks at some sunshine here and there.  On the topic of sunshine and warmer weather (hopefully), believe it or not, Daylight Savings Time is only a couple of weeks away so hang in there!

TUESDAY PM STORM:  Tuesday night the low pressure center coming out of the Plains moves close enough to set the atmosphere off with the cold front he'll drag with him.  This event will be a tricky one to nail down from a forecast perspective, as mixed mode precipitation is in the picture.  Wintry mix systems are a pain to predict until you're right up against the arrival of the storm.  I can tell you now that snow will definitely be a factor, so far this looks like a 3-6" of new snow affair, with more locally heavy snow possible.  Some spots will also see a wintry mix of precipitation depending on how the air overhead is set up Tuesday evening.  The evening drive home Tuesday night and the trip in to work or school Wednesday could be an adventure.  Computer data is suggesting we kick off this event between 5 and 9 PM and carry it over into Wednesday afternoon.

A TOUCH OF PRE-STORM SNOW:  Even with all the clouds in the area, I don't expect to see anything terribly organized until the above mentioned storm on Tuesday.  However, some flurries or light snow is possible at times with northwesterly flow aloft and at the surface as you head west toward the lake shore.  The lake-effect snow machine is running and some snow is evident on the Grand Rapids NEXRAD:

Grand Rapids NEXRAD

Don't be shocked to see some snow bands sneak this way and drop a little snow, or some flurries as the bands try to make it inland from the lake shore and fall apart on the way east.

The five day precipitation outlook from the National Weather Service shows that there will be plenty to go around, have a look at the map:

National Weather Service 5 Day precipitation Forecast

Cleveland has a 1.7 inch bullseye sitting over them, so that equates to several inches of snow coming off the lake for them.  Here in our area, the forecast has backed off to about an inch of liquid, but that's still enough to create quite the mess of snow.

Here's a look at temperatures around the nation...

And this is for forecast for Jackson and surrounding areas:


Today, mainly cloudy, a peek at sunshine in spots, flurries or very light snow in spurts, high 33, winds WNW 5-10 MPH.

Tonight, continued mostly cloudy, perhaps a break for stars in some areas, flurries or light snow still linger, low of 20, winds slacken and turn NE 3-6 MPH.

Monday, some scattered sunshine in the morning, then the clouds come back, a bit warmer, high 36.  Wind NE 4-8 MPH.

Monday night, cloudy skies, the chance of more flurries or a dusting of snow can't be eliminated, lows near 19, wind NE 6-12 MPH.

Tuesday, cloudy skies, snow starts Tuesday evening, 2-3" possible before midnight.  Not as cold, high 37.

Wednesday, continued daytime cloudiness, another 2-3" of new snow possible by nightfall, high 38.

Thursday, clouds stay around, some lingering snow may fall, another 1-2" depending on your area, high 37.

Friday, some breaks appear in the clouds, not as mild, high 34.

Saturday, clearing and colder, high 28.

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