Friday Snow in Michigan: Disagreement Among Forecasters

Winter Weather Advisories have been issued across much of Mid-Michigan for Friday, but forecasters are in disagreement as to how much snow will actually fall.

We compared the snowfall forecasts for nearly three dozen communities from the National Weather Service, AccuWeather, and WILX News 10 out of Lansing. While there's some consensus for a few towns, the predictions vary wildly for others.

Photo via robertiez

What the National Weather Service Is Saying

Forecasters with the National Weather Service say to expect snow to develop before daybreak Friday and to continue off-and-on throughout the day across Mid-Michigan. They caution that roads may become slushy or snow-covered as several inches accumulate in some areas, up to half a foot in some locations.

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What AccuWeather Is Saying

AccuWeather meteorologists are currently hedging their bets. They don't believe quite as much snow will accumulate as the NWS thinks. They're thinking more along the lines of 1-3" for most of us.

What Local TV Meteorologists Are Saying

Meteorologist Colton Cichoracki of WILX News 10 thinks the biggest accumulations will happen along and north of the I-96 corridor:

it is clear that the further north that you live in Mid-Michigan, the more snow you will see. It does look like the highest snowfall totals of 3-6″ are likely near and north of M-21. South of there for the Lansing area, a general 2-4″ of snow is expected. A sharp cutoff will then exist south of I-96 towards I-94 where 1-2″ of snow or less is expected. Areas south of I-94 may not see very much snow at all.

This chart compares snowfall predictions from AccuWeather, the National Weather Service and WILX News 10 for several communities around Mid-Michigan.

* updated at 9pm on 3/21/24

CITY	ACCUWEATHER	NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE	WILX
Bath	1-3"	3-5"	2-4"
Charlotte	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
DeWitt	1-3"	3-5"	2-4"
Durand	1-3"	3-5"	2-4"
Eagle	1-3"	3-5"	2-4"
East Lansing	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
Eaton Rapids	1-3"	2-4"	1-2"
Elsie	3-6"	4-5"	3-6"
Fowlerville	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
Grand Ledge	1-3"	3-5"	2-4"
Haslett	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
Holt	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
Howell	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
Ionia	3-6"	4-5"	3-6"
Jackson	1-3"	1-2"	1-2"
Laingsburg	1-3"	4-6"	2-4"
Lansing	1-3"	2-3"	2-4"
Leslie	1-3"	2-3"	1-2"
Marshall	1-3"	1-2"	1-2"
Mason	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
Nashville	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
Olivet	1-3"	1-3"	2-4"
Onondaga	1-3"	1-3"	1-2"
Ovid	1-3"	4-5"	3-6"
Owosso	1-3"	4-6"	3-6"
Perry	1-3"	3-5"	2-4"
Portland	1-3"	3-4"	3-6"
Potterville	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
St. Johns	1-3"	4-5"	3-6"
Stockbridge	1-2"	1-3"	1-2"
Vermontville	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
Webberville	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"
Westphalia	1-3"	4-5"	2-4"
Williamston	1-3"	2-4"	2-4"

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Filed Under: snow, snowfall, snowfall totals

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