SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) – Aside from a lake effect in the Thumb this weekend, we had an opportunity to dry out this weekend. However, this break is expected to be short-lived.

Warnings have been issued for our counties along US-127 and our northernmost counties along M-55. These advisories will come into effect this evening and will remain in effect for most of Monday. It is possible that additional counties will be added based on projected trends. However, we will inform you if this happens. Please see our weather warnings page for details.

For a complete overview of your forecast, be sure to check out TV5 First Alert’s 7-day forecast!

Tonight and overnight

We don’t expect many issues in the short term this evening as the snow is expected to continue largely until after midnight. Although the first snow showers are possible on Monday morning, we expect that the snow that moves through during the morning will be isolated, so that many will have a chance of surviving the morning commute dry.

Our northern counties and northern Thumb appear to have the “best” chances of seeing snow early in the day. Any accumulation during the morning drive should be relatively small (generally under 1 inch), but with temperatures dropping to 15-20°C tonight, road conditions will of course need to be monitored.

Winds will be southerly at about 5 to 15 miles per hour, bringing wind chills in the low to mid teens Monday morning.

Monday

Snow will become more frequent late morning and continue to spread across the area during the afternoon and evening hours. For a broad period of heaviest snowfall, we expect this period to be between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Those further north of the Tri-Cities region will be closer to the 11 a.m. start, while those further south will be closer to 12 p.m.

Snowfall rates of 0.5 to 0.75 inches per hour are expected during this window. The chance of snow approaching 1″ per hour seems relatively low at this time (20% or less).

Monday afternoon, temperatures may warm to the low and mid 30s, with south-southwest winds expected to gust around 5 to 15 mph.

The snow will gradually ease from northwest to southeast during the evening hours and will likely have largely disappeared in all areas by midnight. Temperatures will drop to the low and mid 20s C on Monday night, so road conditions on Christmas Eve will need to be monitored for all travel at the start of the day.

As for amounts, we expect most of the area to see 2 to 5 inches of rise as we received last Thursday and early Friday. There could be some areas of refinement as we have 1 to 4 inches further south near areas like Flint, Lapeer, Owosso and Alma and have considered some isolated totals near 6 inches north of the Tri-Cities region.

If we were to make adjustments based on some of the things we’re watching this evening, we could see some of our northern counties rise just a touch higher, and we’re also watching for possible mixed precipitation (sleet or freezing rain) in the south that could cut off the snow levels there have fallen. Not only will we see what today’s data brings, but we’ll also have another look at a snow map in the morning, so meteorologist Mathieu Mondro will keep you updated on Monday morning.

As always, please drive carefully and stay tuned for updates! We’ll keep you updated on air, online and on social media if any updates are needed.

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