Winter officially starts Wednesday, Dec. 21 …. and for the first few days of the new winter season, it could be very interesting.
A major winter storm is expected to develop in the Texas Panhandle Wednesday night, then move northeast towards the Great Lakes late Thursday through Friday.
It is expected to exit the region Saturday afternoon.
Light snow should be falling Thursday well ahead of the storm. The snow is expected to increase Thursday night through all of Friday.
There is a chance that the Eastern Upper Peninsula could see some sleet and freezing rain mixed in on Friday.
The snow associated with the storm system itself is expected to continue Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon.
The winds will be very strong with this storm. The winds will really pick up Friday afternoon through Saturday morning.
The winds will be from the north on Friday 12-22 mph with gusts to 35 mph by evening.
The winds will only increase Friday night as they become more from the northwest, with sustained winds of 15-25 mph and gusts over 50 mph.
The winds should remain this way for Saturday as well as the storm pulls away from the region.
Snow from the system itself (Thursday afternoon through Friday evening) could be in the 5”-9” range.
Friday night through Saturday afternoon, another 5”-9” could fall as the lake effect starts to kick in.
One computer model is spitting out a whopping 25” of snow from Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon for Rudyard/Trout Lake area.
For Sault Ste. Marie, this same model says 20” of snow possible.
.jpg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
