Season's First Snow Likely, Plus Thanksgiving Outlook

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Metro Detroit could get its first snowstorm of the season starting Friday and continuing into the weekend.

A low-pressure system from Winter Storm Ajax, which howled across the Rockies and the Northwest before winding down early Wednesday morning, will merge with a powerful jet-stream disturbance responsible for the storm and at least temporarily end southeast Michigan’s extended autumn season, according to The Weather Channel.

Less moisture will be associated with the system than with Winter Storm Ajax, but the storm is expected to strengthen over the Great Lakes and dump a swath of snow

Looking farther out, the Thanksgiving travel forecast looks good in Metro Detroit, according to The Weather Channel. Daytime highs are expected to remain in the 40s. There’s some rain in the forecast toward the end of the weekend, but overnight lows aren’t expected to dip below freezing.

But this weekend could have weather that’s more typical for this time of year. Depending on which forecast you’re watching, the area could get up to three inches of snow or none at all.

Rachel Kulick, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in White Lake, told the Detroit Free Press temperatures will dip into the 20s Friday, but “it’s still a bit early to see exactly” what’s in store in terms of accumulating sow.

Other weather service forecast models predict a 60 percent chance of snow on Saturday and Saturday night, but with highs in the upper 30s both Saturday and Sunday, it likely won’t stick around.

The storm could be more significant in the western part of the state with lake-effect snow over Lake Michigan. Up to 6 inches of snow is possible there.