Windy & cold Wednesday, wind slows down Thursday & Friday

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - The breeze started picking up Tuesday evening as scattered showers started moving through Mid-Michigan. Those showers have since ended, but the wind is still coming in strong! Windy weather will continue this afternoon, then conditions quiet down to finish the workweek.

As we head into the weekend, there’s a chance we repeat this same pattern all over again. Early indications are pointing towards the potential of gusts even being slightly stronger than today, so this will be something to monitor closely. Saturday is the day with this potential. More details are below.

Afternoon

Even if your morning bus stop was “milder,” it is already feeling much colder. You’ll need the layers for the afternoon bus stops or if you’re running errands later today. Wind chills will run near 20 degrees, even into the teens at times.

Wind gusts will be strong between 40 and 45 mph. The direction is from the west. These winds have prompted a Wind Advisory from the National Weather Service through today for all counties in Mid-Michigan. Gusts will begin to slow down, closer to 25 mph, by the middle of the overnight. This will lead into a less windy Thursday.

The rain has already left our area along the cold front and a few lake-effect snow showers have taken over up north. This is where most snow shower activity remains today, and coverage will still be more sparse. As a result, roadway impacts are expected to be minimal and isolated, mostly near Houghton Lake. The remainder of the TV5 viewing area will just be stuck under clouds for the rest of the day.

Tonight

We’ll see decreasing cloud coverage tonight but far colder weather with lows near 24 degrees. Wind chills will easily be in the teens overnight with breezy conditions (although still less windy than the daytime). Gusts tonight will be closer to 25 to 30 mph from the west. Overall, bundle up!

Thursday

Partly cloudy skies hold on Thursday with a few high clouds from time to time. This will keep skies bright overall, and dry weather is expected. The wind turns southwesterly at 10 to 20 mph. It will be a cold day, but overall much quieter than Tuesday evening and Wednesday. Any holiday shoppers or residents running errands will want to bundle up still!

Same Pattern Saturday?

Early indications are pointing towards another low on Saturday that may take a very similar track to the current low. Timing is expected to shift too, but this could also have roughly the same ETA as our current low, meaning temperatures may fall through the day again. This would also include a changeover from rain to snow after the cold front moves through.

Some signs have also pointed towards potentially stronger gusts (relative to Wednesday). We’ll monitor this as well, but this is likely to be another advisory-level wind with gusts more consistently closer to 45 mph. Check back here for updates through the rest of this week!

A look at early next week is available in your full TV5 First Alert 7-Day Forecast!

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