Today’s Winter Storm Warning continues for Oceana, Muskegon and Ottawa counties (shown in pink on the map above), with Winter Weather Advisories stretching across most of the southern half of the Lower Peninsula.
Incoming snow could range from 9-12 inches along the Lake Michigan shoreline communities to just 1-3 inches across Southeast Michigan.
Temperatures will moderate a bit today, with some area across the southern tier reaching the low 30s, while the Upper Peninsula inches toward 20 degrees for a daytime high.
After today, all the focus will shift to the extremely cold air mass headed our way. It will be the coldest air of winter, and the coldest air some of us have felt since 2019, forecasters say.
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Ice begins to build on Lake Michigan shoreline
Here are the forecast highlights from the National Weather Service offices across Michigan today:
We will face a potentially life-threatening cold outbreak beginning Thursday night, with temperatures plunging well below zero and wind chills reaching minus 35 degrees or colder across much of the state through Saturday morning.
Light to moderate snow will taper off across southern Michigan this morning, but lake effect snow will return to areas along Lake Superior this afternoon and tonight, bringing three to six inches to the Keweenaw Peninsula and higher terrain.
Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for northern Houghton and Keweenaw counties. The National Weather Service warns that blowing snow and reduced visibility will create hazardous travel conditions, particularly Thursday night through Friday afternoon when widespread 20 mph winds combine with fine, powdery snow.
The most significant threat arrives Thursday night as the coldest air mass of the season sweeps into Michigan. Temperatures will drop below zero across most of the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Michigan by Friday morning, with some areas plunging to minus 15 degrees or colder. An Extreme Cold Watch remains in effect for western and central Upper Michigan, where apparent temperatures of minus 25 degrees or colder are likely Saturday morning. Even southern Lower Michigan will see single-digit highs Friday and Saturday, with overnight lows dropping below zero in many interior locations. The bitter cold will persist through at least Sunday morning.
Lake effect snow will continue intermittently through the weekend, though accumulations will be limited by the extremely cold air, which produces very fine snowflakes.
