| Lansing State Journal
LANSING — Forecasters are doubling down on warnings earlier this week that Lansing and much of Lower Michigan could be in for a blast of ice after Christmas.
The National Weather Service on Christmas issued a winter weather advisory for Friday, Dec. 26, warning that travel particularly early in the day will be treacherous because of ice forecasters are calling likely.
For people in the Lansing area, forecasters said they should expect mixed precipitation overnight, including freezing rain, and one-tenth to one-quarter of an inch of ice is expected to form.
“Widespread freezing rain expected late tonight through early to mid afternoon Friday, possibly mixing with rain across southwest MI,” the National Weather Service said on X. “A glaze of ice is likely areawide with the potential for some to see up to 0.25″ of ice. Plan for hazardous travel Friday due to icy roads.”
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The worst of the icing is expected along a northern line from Cadillac to Clare to just north of Port Huron, and as far south as Detroit and Jackson. The entire Greater Lansing area is included in the worst of the forecast.
The weather advisory goes into effect at 5 a.m. Friday, Dec. 26 and expires at 4 p.m. that afternoon.
Early week models were consistently indicating that conditions would be right for freezing rain from Thursday night into Friday, said Bob Dukesherer, a forecaster for the weather service in Grand Rapids.
A tenth of an inch of ice is enough to snarl traffic and cause other problems, and it’s possible some areas could see more than that, he said. Heavier buildups of ice can bring down limbs and power lines.
Friday’s high is forecast at 37 degrees, with temperatures dropping overnight to 27 degrees, with the same high Saturday but a slightly higher overnight temperature of 31 degrees.
Sunday is expected to be rainy with a high of 52 before temperatures plummet below freezing next week.
