Nice Today – Bad Tomorrow

58 thoughts on “Nice Today – Bad Tomorrow”

1. We’re closed tomorrow and pretty much every district is too.

   1. We are here too.

2. Already many districts closing for tomorrow. The list will only grow as the evening progresses.

   1. No closings over here yet. I’ll be curious to see what happens in the morning with the really nasty stuff hitting later in the day. Early release, perhaps?

      1. I see at least one is doing just that Mark..

         1. Several are closing over here on the west side. Storm Team 8 says earlier timing for the snow and ice than earlier thought.

            1. Yes.. sorry Kyle.. I am west sider too!!

3. Is winter over yet? Snow = fantastic! Freezing rain = horrendous!

   1. 100% agree. Not looking forward to my 30min commute to work the next 2 days if we get significant ice.

4. We still need the low pressure and the snow line to move 50 miles to the South! Bring it!

5. Ice Storm Warning! Potential for thunder with it as well. Wow. The so called “wimpy” winter some refer to on here has given us blizzard warnings and now ice storm warnings. Both not issued in about a decade and we got both headlines this winter.

   1. It has been a crazy winter and plenty of winter weather left to come! Buckle up!

6. Local TV met just said this is our first Ice Storm Warning in nine years. Pretty rare.

7. Good luck everyone. I’m heading to a Hotel early tomorrow morning, as I do not trust my trees under these “extreme conditions”.

8. OK, in looking at the forecast for Grand Rapids there now looks like there is a chance of 1 to 2″ of snow/sleet and up to a half inch of ice with the expected winds that is not good at all
   Slim

   1. It’ll be interesting to see how closing are handled tomorrow. Most of the precipitation starts after sunrise, but I’d imagine the commute home will be terrible.

   2. I could be wrong, but it seems that the NWS has lowered the expected ice accumulation a little bit for Kalamazoo County and moved it north somewhat.

      1. Local TV met said Hastings to Charlotte to Mason seems like the sweet spot for up to 3/4″ of ice accumulation.

         1. Ouch!

9. Definitely a crazy winter. The first Blizzard Warning in over a decade last Xmas (at least for Grand Rapids)… and the first Ice Storm warning in I think a decade?
   *And* the highest number of melting events I have ever witnessed in one winter. And the sunniest February in over 40 years… lots of records this winter :O

   Let’s hope the icing is not as bad as expected. Sometimes it ends up being mostly sleet or plain rain… seems like that is highly unlikely this time unfortunately

   1. I will see how the wording is in the updated discussion from the NWS. But in what I am reading it almost looks like they are downplaying the ice and wind. It seems to me if there is a good amount of ice with 40MPH winds that would spell massive power outages
      Slim

10. In looking at the write up I get the feeling that for some reason the NWS is kind of downplaying this event. Anyway here is some information on some past ice events in southern Lower Michigan. From channel 4’s Paul Gross, Meteorologist out of Detroit.

    New Year’s Eve / Day 1984-85:
    Of all times to get an ice storm, New Year’s Eve has to be one of the worst. Freezing rain, light at first, moved into the area New Year’s Eve afternoon, and then became heavy overnight. I was in Lansing for that one, which was hit very hard. In fact, I vividly remember looking out my hotel room window and seeing the rain coming down as heavy as if it was a summertime thunderstorm. I then turned on The Weather Channel, and the current temperature was 28 degrees. The next morning, it took me thirty minutes to get enough ice chipped off my car just to get a door opened so I could start it and get the defrosters on. I also remember that the rain / ice line barely moved during the duration of this storm. In fact, that line hovered around 14 Mile Road, and I remember somebody telling me that the north end of the Oakland Mall parking lot was icy, while the south end of the lot was just wet!
    March 13-14, 1997:
    This ice storm hit the central part of our area with a lot of ice. I cannot get out of my mind how many limbs came down in my backyard as a result. It truly looked as if a bomb hit the backyard…there was that much lumber strewn across the yard, including one big limb that came down so hard that it impaled itself in the ground.

    It took me about six hours to get all of those limbs cut up and dragged down to the street – my city (Farmington Hills) scheduled emergency yard waste pickup to help us all out. Otherwise, all of that would have sat there for another month. An estimated 425,000 home and businesses lost power, some for nearly a week. I was one of those, and spent that week at my mother-in-law’s condo…she had power.
    April 4, 2003:
    This was similar in nature to the March 1997 ice storm. A total of 500,000 homes and businesses lost power as a result of up to an inch of ice accumulation. My memory of this ice storm involves neighbors helping neighbors. A limb came down on my side of my street and took out a power line, so those of us on that side lost power. However, everybody across the street still had theirs. So we all ran extension cords across the street to our neighbors’ houses! I was without power for five days, and some in the northern half of Oakland County, which was hit the hardest, were without power for a week. Yes, by the way, it was another week at my mother-in-law’s.

    Computer models have been consistent in projecting a half-inch or more of ice across especially the northern and western parts of our area. But something else to consider is the wind, which could gust near or over 40 mph overnight Saturday night / early Sunday morning. This wind adds a considerable load onto ice-laden trees and power lines, which will only bring down more limbs and lines.

    And here is the bench mark ice storm in my life time.
    https://www.mlive.com/weather/2016/03/great_ice_storm_of_1976.html
    As I stated at this time it seems to me that the NWS is downplaying this event so maybe we will luck out.
    Slim

    1. We had an ice storm in the early 2000s. I don’t know exactly what year, but I believe that was one of the more recent big ice storms

       1. That should be the one in April 2003
          Slim

    2. I remember the 84-85 storm well. Our office was in the city of Kalamazoo where large power outages are extremely rare. It took 4 days for power to return IIRC. I do have some awesome photos I took of ice covered trees with the sun shining on them.
       This was when my fear of ice storms originated.

    3. From Bill’s Blog:
       https://www.woodtv.com/weather/the-ice-storm-of-feb-21-23-1922-2/
       Now that was a scary ice storm. Then there’s also the 1998 Quebec ice storm.

11. …WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM WEDNESDAY TO 1 PM
    EST THURSDAY…

    * WHAT…Heavy mixed precipitation expected. Total snow and sleet
    accumulations of 3 to 7 inches and ice accumulations of up to
    two tenths of an inch. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph.

    * WHERE…Portions of central and west central Michigan.

    * WHEN…From 10 AM Wednesday to 1 PM EST Thursday.

    * IMPACTS…Plan on slippery road conditions. Areas of blowing
    snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous
    conditions will greatly impact the Wednesday evening commute.

    * ADDITIONAL DETAILS…The heaviest snow accumulations will be
    near and north of Highway U.S. 10.

    1. Mason-Lake-Osceola-Clare-Oceana-Newaygo-Mecosta-Isabella-Muskegon-Montcalm-Gratiot-Ottawa-Kent-Ionia-Clinton-

12. …ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM WEDNESDAY TO 4 AM EST
    THURSDAY…

    * WHAT…Significant icing expected. Total ice accumulations of up
    to one half of an inch. Total snow and sleet accumulations up
    to one inch. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph.

    * WHERE…Allegan, Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Calhoun and Jackson
    counties.

    * WHEN…From 10 AM Wednesday to 4 AM EST Thursday.

    * IMPACTS…Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the
    ice. Travel could be nearly impossible. The hazardous conditions
    will greatly impact the Wednesday evening commute.

13. They just updated… Allegan under ice storm warning now!!!
    Triple UGH Mark!!

    1. Not good. 🙁

       Do you have that link you shared previously for the weather guy on YouTube?

       1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_baO7NbVt0&t=4s
          Here ya go… Ryan Hall Y’all.

          Says he is going to go live when the storm comes.

          1. How did I forget Ryan Hall Y’all?? Thanks SS.

             1. No problem. I am not up on all weather lingo so it he explains thing in English. Lol

14. https://michigan-weather-center.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2-21-update-b.png

    1. Double ugh

       1. For sure!!!
          Michael…do you think this could rank up there with ice storm of 1984 New Year’s Eve?

          1. That is a good question. I do not recall it being all that windy in the 1984 event. Here in GR in 1984 there was more snow/sleet than ice. 7.6″ total event snow/sleet.
             Slim

             1. Thanks Slim. I didn’t live where we are now…but this side of town was without power for a week.
                I was a kid and we went sledding … the hills were fast!!! Lol!!!

15. https://michigan-weather-center.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2-21-update.png

    1. Ugh

    2. No thank you!!! LOL!!!
       Checked our generator yesterday!!!
       Going to get some laundry done tonight and make some banana bread… bfast of champions!!! LOL!!

16. Midday forecast discussion:

    https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=GRR&issuedby=GRR&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1

    I hope I will be able to get my bro from the Flint airport tomorrow evening. He’s packing some snacks in case he needs to stay there overnight.

    1. Where is he coming in from? I wonder if things get too bad if his flight would even land
       Slim

       1. Phoenix

17. I’ll take snow over ice any day! Will be interesting to see how this plays out. For now, big delicious filled paczki is in the mix. Stay warm and safe!

18. It is turning out to be a wild wintry end to the
    month of February! Last week a WWA with accumulating snow and now a WSW with possible snow and freezing rain! The cpc is still predicting a cold and snowy March! Wow to the wow!

19. I was late getting up today and I am still tired. The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 41/26 there was no rain or snow fall. And there was 46% of possible sunshine. The current temperature here at my house is 28 and there is some light snow falling. For today the average H/L is 35/21 the record high of 66 was set in 1930 and the record low of -8 was set in 1968 the record snow fall of 6.0” was set way back in 1898. The question now is just how much sleet and or ice will we receive from this upcoming event.
    Slim

    1. Morning Slim! Going to be interesting to see what happens with this. Looks like I’ll be checking map updates regularly today.

20. Happy to see the storm shift north. Snow totals have been reduced. More ice than snow is just another sign winter has been dying for a while now. CPC is looking warm!

21. So much for a cold and snowy February! It’s been a warm one, just like January.

22. It seems there is a slight northward trend in the freezing rain line with the overnight forecast. The WSW for Grand Rapids is now for up to 0.3″ of freezing rain… ice events are always hard to forecast so I’m sure things are still going to change a bit

    1. The point-and-click for GR Wednesday night is interesting:
       Rain or freezing rain, becoming all freezing rain after 10pm. Low around 28. Windy, with an east northeast wind 24 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

23. This storm is going to be very difficult to predict. There will be a sharp cut off from snow to sleet to freezing rain! The preliminary RDB gives GR 2 -4 inches of snow/sleet! Stay tuned for later updates! Rock n roll will never die! Get ready for a wild ride! Is winter weather over yet?

24. Happy Fat Tuesday!

    More Shakespeare this morning 😀

    Not looking good for tomorrow, unfortunately. Oh well, we will get through it.

    Make someone smile and have a great day.

    1. aye the paczki art eft to beest devot’d in mineth fridge! Happy fat Tuesday!

    2. Happy Fat Tuesday! And more importantly the first day of Lent tomorrow 😀

       1. Yessir. The Mrs. and I are going to morning Mass after dropping the boy off at school.

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