Damp and chilly is the rule for the next few days, but one more very brief hit of milder air works in before we get a taste of whats to come as far as winter weather. Let's dive in and have a look at it.
RAINY, COLD: Right now in South Central Michigan, no sun to be found, but plenty of rain and low temperatures. Here's a look at that for you:
Heavier showers just offshore from Muskegon, warmest temperature in South Central Michigan is 42 degrees in Coldwater. No sunshine until you get up toward the thumb, and they will be losing that as the day progresses.
BIG PICTURE: Let's have a look at the forecast map from the National Weather Service, and then we'll discuss a couple of things.
The big player on the field is the low over the Iowa/Nebraska line. The warm front sweeping up toward Michigan is what's triggering the showers and cloudy skies out of ahead of it. I know you're looking at that rain/snow mix forecast line that roughly follows I-96 across the state! I don't see that just yet, but the chances are definitely there!
Hi-Res NAM model FutureCast for 8 PM tonight. As we lose the daytime heating, here you see the model suggesting some showers and thunder in our area if this verifies, but if you look up north of say, Mount Pleasant/Clare area, there is some snow embedded in the mass of precipitation. The second part of this is don't be surprised to see the storm track differently than what this model is thinking, and as always with winter weather, that will move your rain/snow line some.
ANY SEVERE WEATHER?: Not for the next three days, and quite honestly, we're pretty much done with severe weather in the warm season sense. Now it's time to start worrying about winter storm systems and such.
HALLOWEEN WEEKEND: Saturday should be a good day and evening for goblins, ghouls and superheroes. We'll see some mixed sunshine and readings warming up into the low to mid 60's, which is about 10 degrees above the average highs of 52-55. I'd keep the umbrella handy though, because we will introduce the chance of some widely scattered or scattered showers into the picture starting Friday an right on through into the new week.
LOOKING AHEAD: After we get this system out of here, cool, with a break until the weekend, as I alluded to above. We'll see another disturbance slide across the Great Lakes just on the northern side of the international border. This will be the primary driver behind the possible raindrops over the next few days. After that, not much to speak of until November 3rd/4th. The thinking is a disturbance coming out of the northern Rockies becomes a bona fide surface low around Omaha and marches almost due east. If that look verifies, we'll see some showers and a possible storm along with it. Temperatures will remain fairly seasonable, no heat waves or cold snaps expected.
Here's the forecast for Jackson and vicinity:
Today - Cloudy, chilly. Showers and an embedded thunderstorm possible. High only 46.
Tonight - Cool and rainy. Lows near 38.
Thursday - Continued mainly cloudy, still a bit cool. High 51.
Friday - Periods of clouds and sun, warming. High 58.
Saturday - More sun than clouds to start, but clouds thicken throughout the day, warmer. We can;t rule out the mention of a shower or two late. High 64.
Sunday - Clearing skies, some passing clouds still around though, some widely scattered showers. Not as warm, high only 57.
Monday - Periods of clouds and sun, mild. High 61.
Tuesday - Partly sunny, warmer. High 63.
That's what we have for you today, make it a great one!
