3 Systems Moving Through Next Week

Well, we are moving into the most active part of winter so far, with three distinct systems moving through in the next week. I'll talk about all three of these systems and the snow day chances they will bring us right now.

System One: Tomorrow morning, a strong cold front will move through the area. Ahead of this front, there will be a lot of rain, with the possibility of even hearing a few rumbles of thunder! Temperatures will be over 40 degrees ahead of this front, but will abruptly drop into the mid 20's shortly after the front moves through. Precipitation will therefore quickly turn into snow, but only a dusting of snow should fall, as the cold front is bringing in very dry air behind it, which will work to move the precipitation out of our area. The big story from this system is that all of the rain that falls ahead of the cold front will quickly turn to ice, potentially making roads very hazardous to drive on during the day tomorrow. However, don't expect a snow day from this system, unless the 40 mph wind gusts behind it cause a power outage at the school. All that will happen before school tomorrow is a lot of rain, so there's obviously no reason to call a snow day. Just be prepared for some bad driving conditions on the way home from school tomorrow.

System Two: Snow will fall Tuesday Night into Wednesday Morning as an area of precipitation moves through SE Michigan. There should be several hours of moderate snowfall, likely leading to accumulations of 3-7" across Oakland County. One thing to watch out for from this system is that an area of ice accumulations is possible over SE Michigan if the track of the system is further north than currently forecast. I still wouldn't expect a snow day out of this one, but there is the chance. We have a pretty good timeframe, with the heaviest snow expected to fall early Wednesday Morning, and there is the chance to see 6+" out of this system. However, I believe right now that this is looking like a 4" "nuisiance snow", one that makes roadways bad, but not bad enough to lead to a snowday.

Here is my map for the Tuesday Night - Wednesday Morning System:

System Three: The real system to watch for a snowday is, in my opinion, the one that will cause heavy precipitation to fall all day and into the night on Thursday. It's a low pressure system that will track out of the Rockies and into Lower Michigan. The problem with this system is that it may bring in enough warm air so that we once again may see only rain from it. However, the potential also exists for an ice or snow storm Thursday and Thursday Night. Basically, it's unclear what's going to happen. But still, know that there is the potential for a significant winter weather event Thursday into Thursday Night.

The Bottom Line: Three different systems moving through in the next five days means that there will be a chance of a snow day almost every day next week. Days with the best chance for a snowday will be determined as more is known about System Two and System Three, but for now, suffice it to say that this is the most promising week of winter so far.