Showers pass through for some tonight & Thursday, keeping an eye on Saturday

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - It’s been a fairly smooth day so far around Mid-Michigan, despite skies looking rather gray.

And even with the gray skies, we’ve still managed a warm up with most areas rising back into the 40s this afternoon. Although we should remain dry through most of the evening, rain chances will be returning soon, and will have the potential for a wet morning commute tomorrow.

This Evening & Overnight

The best rain chances early this evening will stay to our south, closer to the Michigan state line. However, that is expected to change as we get closer to midnight. Southern communities, if you plan on being out that is, should keep an eye out for showers around 10-11 PM or so. Those showers will spread northward through the night into Thursday morning.

Areas north of the Tri-Cities may not see much rain compared to areas to the south, especially in the far north closer to Iosco, Ogemaw, and Roscommon counties.

With the clouds and showers around, expect a milder night with our overnight lows. We should remain in the 30s at least, with 40s in our warmest locations. Winds will be southwesterly at first, turning more northwesterly tomorrow morning, roughly 5 to 15 miles per hour.

Thursday

Showers will be most likely during the morning hours on Thursday, especially from the Tri-Cities and southward. These showers will eventually start pulling away from us as we get closer to the traditional lunch hour, and we’ll dry out into the afternoon.

These showers are not expected to be extremely heavy, with rainfall totals expected to remain on the lighter side. Areas farther to the south toward Flint may pick up as much as 0.25″ or so, with those totals dropping off the farther north you go.

By the afternoon hours on Thursday, skies may break up a bit following the cold front, allowing some sunshine to break through as we close out the day. This may not be the case for everyone, but some communities will likely break through.

High temperatures on Thursday are expected to be cooler than Wednesday, but we should still manage the 40s for most of the area tomorrow. Winds will be northwesterly around 5 to 15 miles per hour through the day.

Dry weather continues on Thursday evening and will last through Friday.

Saturday Storm System: Latest Thoughts

We’ve been keeping an eye on a storm system that’s expected to pass through the Great Lakes region this weekend on Saturday. The storm system is still days away, so we’re not ready to call the finer details certain.

Rain, snow, and mixed precipitation all appear possible on Saturday, with the track of the storm itself determining what you see in your town.

Despite not being ready to give specific information like snowfall totals, we have seen a notable trend today with more rain over the region from the Tri-Cities and Thumb southward, and the best chances for a wet snowfall moving into the northern half of the TV5 viewing area.

This track may fluctuate a bit over the next couple of days, but this seems to be where things are headed. We’ll keep our eyes on it.

Even in areas that see mostly rain to start, we may see some snow on the backside of the system as it pulls away from us on Saturday evening.

Accumulations will be possible, with the best chances for 3″ or more coming in the northern half of the area. The odds of 6″ of snow appear to be less than 50% over the state at this time.

We’ll have you covered the next few days with updates!

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