LANSING, Mich. — Our most significant snow since last season is about to move into mid-Michigan Friday and Saturday. The storm will likely cause a travel nightmare across the state with localized power outages even being possible.
The storm is rapidly strengthening as it moves over the state. The pressure will be very low which is part of the reason why it will be so windy. The low pressure will bottom out those at-home barometers and cause aches and pains for those sensitive to pressure changes. As the storm develops, it will draw in a ton of moisture all the way from the tropics because of the rapid rotation around the low pressure center.
Temperatures will be cold enough for this to be mostly snow with only a tiny bit of rain possible late Friday night. As the tropical moisture plumes in later Friday, some prolific snowfall rates are possible. Some areas could see nearly two inches per hour at times. This will bring travel conditions down to nearly impossible at times when you also factor in winds gusting to 30-40mph. As some rain tried to wrap in, snow totals will be a bit less for a bit. Then, as cold air and snow wraps back around starting very early Saturday morning, snow totals will start to pick up again.
Saturday the wrap around snow will be much more on the powdery side given the temperatures down in the lower 20s. Winds on the backside of the storm Saturday will gust to nearly 50mph. This will cause ground blizzards and near-zero visibility at times. As temperatures fall, roads will likely get icy as the warm ground that melts some snow freezes.
If this sounds familiar it is because this setup and the impacts are nearly the same as the Christmas storm to lake-effect and severe cold of 2022.
The difference between very heavy snow and just heavy snow will likely be mere miles across our viewing area. This makes for a difficult forecast, so please watch for minor tweaks later Thursday evening or even Friday morning before the system moves in. Regardless of actual snow totals the impacts will still be severe. Six inches of snow or twelve inches of snow in a 50mph wind and cold will cause the same disastrous travel conditions.
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