The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has issued a Winter Storm Watch starting Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning for Montcalm, Gratiot, Ionia, Clinton, Shiawassee, Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Livingston, Calhoun and Jackson Counties. Freezing rain is expected in the Watch area Monday afternoon through Monday evening. This includes the cities of Lansing, Jackson, Charlotte, St. Johns and Battle Creek.
Mostly cloudy skies are expected this afternoon. High temperatures today will be near 40. Partly cloudy skies are expected tonight with lows in the 20s.
Another storm system races towards the Great Lakes Monday. The storm brings strong winds and a lot of moisture. Aloft temperatures will be warm enough for rain, but down at the surface an East to Northeast wind will pump cold air into Mid-Michigan. This is the perfect set-up for freezing rain. The freezing rain will develop from south to north during the day. Computer models are saying ice accumulations could be around a quarter of an inch in parts of Mid-Michigan. The ice teamed up with strong wind gusts near 40 MPH will more than likely cause power outages.
The Monday morning commute should be dry. Late Monday morning is when the freezing rain begins and it will slowly spread across all of Mid-Michigan. The Monday afternoon commute could be quite slippery with ice building up on roadways. The freezing rain continues Monday evening before temperatures slowly climb above freezing overnight Monday. Tuesday we are back to rain and snow showers with high temperatures in the 40s.
Stay alert to updated forecasts over the next 24 hours.
