Rain turns to snow, some areas could see 3+ inches by New Year’s Day

Of course, as Michigan gets ready to ring in the new year, we have a changing weather system sweeping in for the holidays.

Any precipitation that falls as rain today is expected to change to snow as temperatures drop today and into the evening and early Wednesday.

Because daytime hours will be above freezing and the ground is not frozen, snow that falls later today will likely melt on roads and lawns. But as temperatures drop today and we begin to lock into our new cold pattern, snow accumulations of 1 to 3+ inches are expected across a diagonal swath of the Lower Peninsula late tonight.

The National Weather Service (NWS) predicts that the highest snow totals could extend from Charlotte to Flint and east into The Thumb.

“Rain will transition to snow late this morning with a wet 1 to 3 inches possible in an area east of US 131 and along and south of I-96,” NWS meteorologists in Grand Rapids said in the morning forecast. “The snow will fall from around noon to early Wednesday, with the heaviest amounts between 4pm and midnight. Minor impacts to the evening commute are possible due to brief periods of moderate snow.”

For those traveling for New Year’s Eve, some slick spots will be possible on the roads this evening.

Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Detroit are expected to get less than an inch of snow.

If we see an area get a heavy swath of snow tonight, it would likely be a narrow area from Plainwell northeast to St. Johns and capture the greater Lansing area. If the forecast modeling stays the same as the morning runs, this area could see up to 4 inches of snow, the NWS said.

On Wednesday, a colder air mass will move into Michigan. Although heavy snow is not expected, we will likely see some snow effect. The cold air will move over the still relatively warm water in the Great Lakes, which is our recipe for a lake effect.