A Miss To The South, Milder Weather Coming...

Good Morning!

I was all prepared to own a busted forecast, but I really think that I did OK this go-round.  I did say that I expected a lot of places in the blog to report zero or trace snowfall amounts, and that's just what happened here. We were bone dry in this part of the world, with just a couple of flurries and wet pavement from snow melt.  New Buffalo on the other hand, down in Berrien County bagged 10" of snow.  All of the heavy snow was confined largely to Stevensville and points west.  Coldwater, in Branch County picked up 3.5" of snow.  I didn't see where Hillsdale or Lenawee counties reported any snowfall.  Yep, we got to sit this one out.  Didn't hurt my feelings any.  Let's take a deeper dive into the next few days.

SUMMARY:  As the surface low that had me concerned about a good storm breezes south of us and plows through Central Ohio and into Appalachia, taking his snow and havoc along with, we keep cloudy skies around for awhile.  The first half of the weekend looks to have perhaps some sun in it though, with moderating temperatures to boot.  I think this is a little ambitious on the part of the GFS forecast model, but for the moment, he likes a high of 53 on Sunday!  We'll see if that holds.  I will caution you that if we do get that warm, I fully expect some rain and maybe even a touch of thunder as part of the bargain.  It will be short-lived in any case, as more seasonable temperatures will return to the area early next week.  Average high this time of year is right around 42, and we'll be in the ballpark, living in the upper 30's to low 40's for the next several days.

PRECIPITATION:  Not much going on between now and Sunday really.  Just a chance of some flurries or a bit of freezing drizzle.  By Friday, sunny skies as high pressure invades from the northwest, sliding off the back of an approaching ridge.  It's that ridge which brings us the milder conditions and some rain by Sunday afternoon.  We'll keep that wet stuff around into Monday, then as we get into the cold air on the backside of the system, that should change over to some accumulating snow, as well as send the mercury back to around freezing.

Have a look at the current temperatures around the US of A right now:

US Surface Temperature Plot

The radar is quietly snoring - nothing there to show unless you like looking at ground clutter.  But here's a look at the visible satellite as we have enough daylight for the camera to work now...

Visible Satellite

Plenty of mid-level overcast and where there's breaks in the cloud deck, you can see the snow still on the ground.  We'll be getting rid of some of that in the next few days.

And here's the forecast for Jackson and surrounding areas including Parma and Brooklyn:

Today, cloudy skies, perhaps an outside chance at a few flurries, high 34, wind NNW 5-10 MPH.

Tonight, clouds stay with us, seasonably cold, low 24, wind NW 4-7 MPH.

Thursday, clouds thin out, milder, high 37, wind NW 5-10 MPH.

Thursday night, some passing clouds, chilly, lows near 20.  Wind NW turning SE 5-10 MPH.

Friday, mostly sunny and mild, high 43.

Saturday, periods of clouds and sun, clouds thicken later in the day, warmer still, high 47.

Sunday, becoming cloudy with rain by mid-afternoon, high 49.

There's a look at your forecast through Sunday, I will have more for you later today!  Blessings!