We knew it was coming eventually. It’s looking like this weekend will be our first snow event here in Mid Michigan. It’s still a little early to define where the snow line is, as we are still 3 days out from the weekend and the weather that is coming our way. Several computer models were used to figure out where the storm will track and who will see the heaviest snow. Trends in both computer models is for a minor shift southward of the rain-snow line. We look at the U.S. model and the European Model. The U.S. model has actually been very accurate, and possibly more accurate than the European model.

So the current thought is a solid swath of snow somewhere from Ludington, Manistee and maybe Muskegon through the center of Lower Michigan around Mount Pleasant and Clare to near the northern side of the Saginaw Bay. Now we will have to watch what is going on in the atmosphere the next two days. By Thursday, the rain-snow line should be pinned down.

How much snow can the affected areas expect? Forecasters think this is a typical 4 to 8 inch event in the heaviest bands of snow. Central and lower can expect 5 inch totals, with a handful of reports at 8 inches. Rain changing to snow should occur in central lower Michigan late Saturday afternoon. This line will shift through Saturday night. It may be during the day on Sunday before the southeast areas like Ann Arbor and Detroit change to snow, and they probably won’t get a lot of accumulation. By Sunday afternoon this snow event should be out of our area. Be sure and plan ahead if you have to go anywhere this weekend, it could be messy!

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