Metro Detroit weather: Raindrops and snowflakes on the way

Light snowflakes might mix with raindrops in morning

The Michigan weather radar for Dec. 2, 2021. (WDIV)

DETROIT – Temperatures rose into the low to mid-50s (10 to 13 degrees Celsius) Thursday afternoon, but they’re now falling after passage of a cold front. Aside from the temp drop and brisk winds, the front came through with little fanfare, as the atmosphere was simply too dry for it to generate any precipitation.

Other than a possible late-afternoon sprinkle, we should remain dry well into the overnight hours, with the wind diminishing, as well. Lows should drop into the low 30s (0 to 1 degree Celsius), then perhaps rise a degree or two around dawn, as clouds thicken.

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It’s possible some light snow could develop around that time, mainly south of 8 Mile Road (and possibly only south of I-94, based on what I’m seeing on some of the models).

Thursday evening’s sunset is at 5:02 p.m., and Friday morning’s sunrise is at 7:45 a.m.

Light snowflakes across the southern part of our area might mix with some light rain drops during the morning, with all precipitation likely moving out by early afternoon -- although the clouds will hang around. I expect either no snow accumulation, or very little, and this should be a low-impact event.

Highs Friday near 40 degrees (4 to 5 degrees Celsius). West wind at 5-10 mph will become light and variable by later in the day.

Clouds start breaking up Friday night, with lows near 30 degrees (-1 degree Celsius).

Weekend forecast

Saturday looks like a perfectly reasonable early December day, with partly cloudy skies and highs near 40 degrees (5 degrees Celsius). There will be a breeze out there, but the sunshine helps a lot.

Increasing clouds Saturday night, with lows in the upper 20s (-2 degrees Celsius). Some models suggest that a few flakes might be possible late at night across the northern half of the Thumb, but I do not expect it to be problematic.

Sunday looks to be mostly cloudy, with some rain showers developing as warm air pushes northward ahead of an approaching low pressure system.

Computer model guidance suggests that highs Sunday could be around 50 degrees (10 degrees Celsius), but what’s not entirely clear to me is what time that high will occur. My gut feeling is that we’ll be cooler than that during the afternoon, with temperatures continuing to rise into the evening hours.

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