Easter Excellence! Spring Weather Rolls On...

Good Morning Gang!

I have been sick the last couple of days, and that looked like me basically getting out of bed, going to work, then going home and back to bed.  I haven't even fully gotten my kid's Easter stuff around!!!  Missed being on here and tweeting/posting.  I haven't even really turned on the TV or played around online to see what's been going on in the world!

No matter.  I may not be feeling 100%, but this weather will surely be just what the doctor ordered!  Some beautiful Spring weather ahead!  Time to have a look and see what's running...

SOME WONDERFUL WEATHER:  We have two stretches of warm, beautiful Spring-like weather coming up, with a break for some showers and perhaps a bit of thunder on Monday.  Temperatures are above average, into the upper 60's and low to mid 70's when we're not in the rain drops!  And if you can believe it, one of the forecast models is suggesting 76 as a high for Monday!  Average temperatures in this part of the world are right around 63 this time of the year, and we'll be no worse than a couple of degrees below that Tuesday.  Our coolest look is on Tuesday in the wake of a departing low that's dragging some rain with it, we'll make it to about 60 and that's it.

A LITTLE BIT OF DAMPNESS:  Not a whole lot of rain to speak of in the forecast for you.  Easter egg hunts and such are 100% green light.  Outdoor grilling - same thing!  The best short-term chance of rain is Monday night into Tuesday.  After that, Friday night into Saturday, and then once we get through those events, the trend appears to be dry and warm all the way into May!

NOTHING SEVERE TO SPEAK OF:  No severe weather threats in this part of the world that you need to be concerned about.  The closest we get is a risk area for general thunderstorms that sneaks up into the Chicago/Milwaukee area tomorrow.  After that, smooth sailing for now.

And here's the forecast:

And the extended outlook:

Have a safe and wonderful Easter Holiday!  Blessings!

The Cold Stays Around For Just A Bit...

Good Morning South Central Michigan!

Mainly cloudy skies with a few holes hear and there, and very cold conditions around the area as I write this.  Let's have a look at the current surface temperature map:

You can see that cold wedge that splits the west and east coasts of the nation.  Let's take a deeper dive and see what we have:

THE WARMING STARTS AGAIN TOMORROW:  If you can get through this next 24 hours, you'll be all set.  We'll see readings climb back toward seasonal levels by the end of the week, seasonal being around 60 degrees.  Sunshine filters in as the day progresses, and we'll have mainly clear skies by daybreak, but those don't last all that long, because we have...

A CHANCE OF RAIN THURSDAY & FRIDAY:  Forecast model data shows me a surface low coming out of the Dakotas and southern Minnesota, moving across northern Wisconsin.  It then takes a left and veers off northeast toward the Upper Peninsula and Canada.  The questions are how strong does this get, and when does it take the turn?  Because we don't have a clear picture just yet, we'll add the mention of some scattered showers in the area on Thursday into Friday.  For my money, Friday will be the better day of the two for rain, as it appears the low basically vaporizes and a Canadian high sits a bit north of the border, pushing the fragments of that low back south and across the Midwest, keeping clouds around and some showers within those clouds.

CLEARING AND BRIEFLY COOLER FOR THE WEEKEND:  Clouds get out of here Friday evening, bringing us sunshine and cooler conditions, with readings in the low 50's.  Sunday, we'll start warming again back up to our seasonal upper 50's or lower 60's, and we stay there through the end of the forecast.

FAIRLY QUIET ACROSS THE NATION:  No severe weather worries to deal with, after today, where the risk is confined to the eastern seaboard, nothing much to talk about according to the Storm Prediction Center.

OK, here's the forecast for Jackson and vicinity:

Today, mainly cloudy with a few peeks of sun, cold, high 35.  Wind NW 8-16 MPH.

Tonight, clearing skies and very cold, lows all the way down to 16.  Wind NW 5-10 MPH.

Wednesday, mixed sunshine and milder, high 49, wind SE 7-14 MPH.

Wednesday night, becoming cloudy and chilly, a stray sprinkle or two after midnight is possible, lows near freezing.

Thursday, mostly cloudy, some scattered afternoon showers are possible, high 58.l

There's a look at the forecast for you, I'll have a detailed outlook later!

Another Brief Hit Of Cold, Wintry Weather...

Good Morning!

Open a window and savor the mild air while you can.  It won't be here when you head home from work this evening, and flakes will fly tonight.  Yes, I said flakes.  Definitely time for a deeper dive to see what's going on...

HELLO COLD FRONT:  Old Man Winter refuses to go quietly.  Here he is again, giving us a Bronx Cheer as plenty of chilly air dives into the US from Canada.  Here's a look at the current temperatures, and I think you can pretty clearly see where the cold is...

Blues and pinks/purples are freezing and below.  Pinks/purples are near 0 degrees F.  Aqua/green and all other colors are above freezing, with yellows and oranges in the 60-70 degree range.

That's a winter-like setup if I've ever seen one!  Truly a big-time trough/ridge look over the US.  Before we continue, I have to say one thing before we get into the details:  leading up to this, people asked me "Mike, is it true that we're gonna get snow Tuesday?"  Originally I said "...no, I'm not seeing that."  Clearly I have to say that I was wrong.  Why?  The low pressure system associated with our cold front that's working through as I write intensified and is stronger than I thought it would get.  The forecast models latched onto this idea early Saturday, and kept it in focus since.  I was hoping the models were being too ambitious and over-forecasting the strength of the system. Unfortunately, this time they got hold to a solution that looks to verify in spades.  Moving on...

WINDY AS ALL GET OUT:  The steep temperature gradient means some strong winds as the frontal system works through.  On the warm side, temperatures are in the 60's with southwest winds. On the back side of the front, strong northwest winds with temperatures in the 30's.  If you look at my Twitter activity (@wxMikeD) or earlier posts here, you can see the break point clearly defined.  Winds are in the 30-40 MPH range with some gusts even higher than that.  Lenawee and Washtenaw counties are under a High Wind Warning until noon.

BRING ON THE SNOW:  I really hate even typing that word, after the winter we have had, but yes, we'll see some light snow this evening and through tonight.  I don't really expect any accumulation, but I'll have to keep an eye on that.  I'm sure you'll notice it on cars and grassy surfaces as the mercury plummets during the day today.  The good news is that after tomorrow, we shouldn't have to worry about any more snow flakes for awhile.  The rest of the forecast window looks seasonably mild.

Looking at computer data, we should be cold enough to support snow after 6 PM, with perhaps the best chance of snow between 8 PM and 4 AM Tuesday morning.  I'm going to go with the high side of this event being about 2" locally in spots.  This is a very tricky forecast setup, and I'm basing that number on the idea of little accumulation until late tonight as air temperatures fall into the 20's.  Beyond that, suffice it to say that I have less than normal confidence in this forecast, so we'll need to wait and see.

FAIRLY QUICK DEPARTURE:  The good news is that this cold snap doesn't stay around very long, and neither does the snow/sleet/slush that it generates.  We warm somewhat toward our upper 50's seasonal averages for mid week, then cool a bit for the weekend, into the upper 40's lower 50's.

Here's the forecast for Jackson and surrounding areas including Parma and Rives Junction: (Note - don't yell at me about the 64.  That was a pre-dawn temperature at the airport, before the cold front's advance was being felt across the area.  A more "traditional" high for today would be something along the lines of 58 and falling!)

Here's the extended outlook for the rest of the week.  At least we don't get super chilly again after the next couple of days elapse...

That's a look at your forecast, I do hope that you have a wonderful rest of your Monday.  Stay warm tonight!  Blessings.

Cold Conditions Ahead...

Good Morning!

Building the forecast for the blog, but I had to show you this:

Gee I wonder where the cold front is... :-) (Hint, it's already passed us by).

You can see some major changes in the cards for the day - and I have to say it...SNOW!  Details forthcoming.