Lake effect snow that blanketed northern Michigan last holiday could produce isolated severe weather in the southeastern part of the state on Monday, potentially bringing some rare thunderstorms to parts of the Thumb.

Record snowfall confused Thanksgiving road and train travel and left football fans paralyzed.

Thunderstorms forecast for early Tuesday are exactly what they sound like: a mix of thunder, lightning and snowfall. There is a small chance that the phenomenon will occur for a few hours, starting around midnight.

Meteorologists said Monday that another 1 to 2 inches of snow could fall.

As for temperatures in southeast Michigan, they are expected to remain below normal throughout the week, with highs in the 20s and 30s and lows into the upper teens, making it feel more like mid-January than early December feels.

“It’s going to be cold,” Weather Service meteorologist Jaclyn Anderson said of this week. Next week, she said, temperatures could gradually rise to above 40C, which would be more normal for this time of year.

But meteorologists point out that it is now winter.

Meteorologists consider December 1st to be the start of the new season, but if you follow an astronomical calendar, winter doesn’t begin until after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, which will occur on December 21st.

Parts of the Midwest and Northeast were spared from the weekend snowstorm.

Lake effect snow that blew across Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York occurs when cold air flows over the warmer waters of the Great Lakes, creating bands of snow that deposit large amounts of snow in narrow, localized areas.

More: Gas prices in Michigan are rising due to record travel on Thanksgiving

Of these states, Pennsylvania and New York were hit the hardest. Some forecasts predicted up to 6 feet of snow by Tuesday, and governors in those states declared snow emergencies and called on the National Guard to help residents.

Mechanical problems on the Chicago-Detroit Amtrak train caused delays for passengers Friday. The eastbound train lost power near Kalamazoo and the westbound train was unable to pass Battle Creek.

On Saturday, teams had to blow snow off the field at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. Flakes continued to fall during the football game against Rutgers, leaving only about 25,000 brave fans in the stands, according to the Lansing State Journal.

And in northern Michigan, residents experienced a historic snowfall, reaching record-breaking snowfall levels in some areas, the Petoskey News-Review reported. Petoskey recorded more than a foot of snow over the long weekend.

In Gaylord the total height was more than 3½ feet, with more than 2 feet on Friday alone.

According to the News-Review, the average snowfall for all of November in this area is 1½ feet.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan faces rare thunderstorms and freezing temperatures