If you can dream up any kind of winter weather, odds are it is happening somewhere across Northern Michigan Friday.
The viewing area is dealing Friday with a vigorous storm system that has lead to a number of school closings along with very slippery roads in spots.
Warmer air is streaming in overhead with temperatures Friday morning at the surface below freezing. What happens is that pure rain develops in the clouds where that warmer air is located with that then falling and hitting surfaces that are below the critical 32F freezing mark here on the ground.
That rain then freezes on contact creating that layer of ice. In Manistee, we had reports of some students not able to reach the busses because of icing there. Cadillac and Baldwin also have reported a coating of ice. Temperatures along/south of highway M-72 should warm enough into the afternoon to see freezing rain switching back over to just plain rain. Further north, the U.P. will see just snow as temperatures will remain cold enough to prevent a switchover.
Total snow accumulation will range in the 2-4” range there. Far Northern Lower Michigan will encounter a sleet/snow/ice mix. Eventually tonight, winds will swing around to the north with colder temperatures arriving switching the entire mess back over to all snow which will end midday Saturday. There are indications of another potentially messy storm arriving the middle of next week.
So, what are the conditions like when you live or work, leave a comment and let us know how your ride into work was Friday!
