Snow squalls are forecast across Michigan as a cold front moves in, starting today and lasting through Thursday. Drivers should be aware that these can pose a serious hazard if they are on the road when a storm hits.

Snow squalls cause white-out situations and can lead to icy roads. They are expected to develop in western Michigan this afternoon and then develop over a period of several hours this evening in southeastern Michigan as a strong cold front arrives, said National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists at the Grand Rapids and Detroit. The front is expected to trigger some rapidly changing weather conditions.

“Snow squalls will develop this afternoon and continue through Thursday,” NWS officials in Grand Rapids said. “Snow is expected to accumulate. The combination of strong gusty winds, falling temperatures and occasional heavy snow will result in dangerous travel conditions.”

The map of Southeast Michigan above shows the time windows during which squalls can occur in the different zones. We will also see a reversal in wind direction.

“Snow squalls are possible sometime between 6 and 11 p.m., resulting in rapid snow accumulations of less than 2 inches if visibility is poor,” said NWS officials in the Detroit/Pontiac office. “Southwest winds 15 to 30 mph becoming northwestward Wednesday evening.”

There will also be more snow with this clipper system, with 2 to 6 inches forecast for the western side of the Lower Peninsula. Higher snowfall of up to 8-12 inches is forecast for the area between Traverse City, Gaylord and Grayling.

More snow is expected in the Upper Peninsula with this clipper storm system. The peak of the snow forecast is Munising, where 10 to 14 inches are expected by Thursday evening.