It's not over yet. New round of snowfall to hit metro Detroit Thursday evening
Temperatures are expected to rise Thursday, but so are the snow accumulations, with 1-2 inches expected in metro Detroit through the morning until about 11 a.m., when the flakes should taper off and then start falling again in the evening.
"It will feel nice, compared to what it has been," Sara Schultz, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told the Free Press, adding that the highs will still only be in the mid-20s, which is still below freezing. "You’ll want to slow down because the snow is going to create some slick roads."
For nearly a week now, the Midwest has faced a snowstorm, and high winds, which knocked out power to tens of thousands of Michigan utility customers. Then it was hit by a deep freeze, which wreaked havoc with car batteries and killed at least one person in Michigan and more nationally.
And on Tuesday, a snow plow reportedly backed over an 86-year-old woman who left a Fraser salon.
By about 7 or 8 p.m. Thursday, it is expected to begin snowing again in metro Detroit and by Friday morning there could be another 2-3 inches, potentially more in the state’s Thumb. Highs are forecast to remain in the 20s through the weekend, including during the Lions game Sunday against the Buccaneers.
Win or lose, by next Monday, highs should finally reach the low 30s.
And next Tuesday and Wednesday’s forecast calls for some ice-cold rain.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard has started clearing ice on the waterways, southern Lake Huron, the St. Clair and Detroit River system, and Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, including the St. Lawrence Seaway. U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers are working together.
The weather service has set up a cooperative observer weather station with the Eastside Community Network and Wayne State University on Detroit's east side to take daily rain, snow, and temperature observations, providing more data to enhance weather predictions.
But the extreme cold nationwide, however, has taken a brutal toll across America.
On the West Coast, news outlets reported four people died in Oregon, two after strong gusts downed trees crushing an RV and a home. Elsewhere in the state, two people were found dead, reportedly having died from hypothermia. And in Idaho, a skier died after being caught in an avalanche.
Schools have been shut down throughout Michigan and in the South, with many students in the metro Detroit area expected to return to class Thursday, some to take postponed final exams. Many districts were waiting for blistering temperatures, which could cause frostbite, to rise.
More: Do Michigan school have to add time to make up for snow days? What you should know
And by early next week, forecasters said, temperature highs also should be returning to what they usually are during the winter in Michigan, the low to mid-30s, which is still at or above freezing.
"It’s just going to feel really warm because we’ve been below normal here for the past few days," Schultz said, adding, with a snicker, some Midwestern understatement. "It’s just been a bit chilly."
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Metro Detroit weather forecast: New snowfall to come Thursday night
