Winter Weather: Town-by-Town Snow/Ice Predictions for February 16
Mid-Michigan is in for a wintry mix today, with snow and sleet falling across most counties throughout the day and into the overnight hours.
The National Weather Service has issued Winter Weather Advisories from 7am Thursday (2/16) through 7am Friday (2/17) for all but the southernmost tier of counties in Mid-Michigan.
How Much Snow and Sleet Should We Expect?
While total accumulations aren't expected to be more than 4 inches at most in any area, it's the wide variety of wintry precipitation that we'll be getting that makes this weather system remarkable.
For instance, the official National Weather Service forecast for Lansing calls for a chance of snow before noon on Thursday, mixing with sleet after noon, with a little freezing rain thrown in for good measure after 5pm. A rumble of thunder is not out of the question. That snow/sleet/freezing rain mix is expected to continue until around 10pm, when the freezing rain bows out. A snow and sleet mix can be expected between 10pm and 1am Friday, before changing back to all snow and ending around daybreak.
The Winter Weather Advisories caution that motorists should "plan on slippery road conditions" and that "the hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute".
WILX News 10 Chief Meteorologist Darrin Rockcole sums it up this way:
Mid-morning is when a mix of snow/sleet and rain will start to move into the area. Temperatures will slowly fall today from the low 30s this morning to the upper 20s by late afternoon. This afternoon the scattered precipitation over the area teamed with temperatures below freezing will start to cause slippery spots to develop on untreated roadways. Tonight we should transition to all snow. Snow & sleet accumulations by Friday morning should be less than an inch along and south of I-94. Close to I-96, including Lansing, plan on around an inch of snow and sleet Friday morning. North of M-21 heavier snowfall totals are expected.
As usual, the major weather forecasting services have differing thoughts about what most towns can expect over the course of the day. Here are town-by-town forecast comparisons for Mid-Michigan from AccuWeather and the National Weather Service.
CITY | ACCUWEATHER | NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE |
Bath | 1-3" | 3” |
Charlotte | 1-2" | 2” |
DeWitt | 1-3" | 3” |
Durand | 1-2" | 3” |
Eagle | 1-3" | 3” |
East Lansing | 1-3" | 2” |
Eaton Rapids | 1-2" | 2” |
Elsie | 1-3" | 3” |
Fowlerville | 1-2" | 1-2" |
Grand Ledge | 1-3" | 3” |
Haslett | 1-2" | 1-2" |
Howell | 2-4" | 1-2" |
Ionia | 2-4" | 3” |
Jackson | < 1” | 1” |
Laingsburg | 1-3" | 3” |
Lansing | 1-2" | 2” |
Leslie | 1-2" | 1-2" |
Marshall | < 1” | 1-2" |
Mason | 1-2" | 1-2" |
Nashville | 1-2" | 3” |
Olivet | 1-2" | 2” |
Onondaga | 1-3" | 1-2" |
Ovid | 1-3" | 3” |
Owosso | 1-3" | 2-3" |
Perry | 1-3" | 1-2" |
Portland | 1-3" | 3” |
Potterville | < 1” | 2-3" |
St. Johns | 1-2" | 2-3" |
Stockbridge | < 1” | 1” |
Vermontville | 1-2" | 3” |
Webberville | 1-2" | 1-2" |
Westphalia | 1-3" | 3” |
Williamston | 1-2" | 1-2" |