Rain to start St. Patrick’s Day, then temperatures fall through the day

SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - Rain began moving into Mid-Michigan later on Thursday afternoon, then has continued on-and-off through the overnight hours. One final wave of rain is moving through early on this Friday morning, but behind that conditions will start to dry out but turn colder. The wind will also pick up, the strongest gusts during the PM hours. If you have any plans for St. Patrick’s Day, stay safe and have some layers on standby!

Today

You can track the rain as you head out on our Interactive Radar! We expect rainy conditions to be ongoing for the bus stops and your morning drive, just take it easy on the roads and maybe allow for a few extra minutes if possible! The rain comes to an end fairly quick this morning, between 7 and 9 AM. This will just depend on whether you’re west or east in our viewing area.

The strongest wind gusts today will pick up around midday and last through the afternoon. These gusts will be from the west between 35 and 40 mph. This wind will also bring down temperatures through the daytime. We start in the 40s for temperatures this morning, then we’re closer to 37 degrees at noon. Dinner or St. Patrick’s Day plans this evening see temperatures falling into the 20s. Wind chills will run in the 20s all afternoon though.

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies hang on with lows falling to around 21 degrees. The wind will stay from the west at 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. This will keep wind chills in the teens, even single digits where the strongest winds are.

Our western counties could see a few scattered snow showers picking up with the wind coming from Lake Michigan, but snow will not be a widespread occurrence overnight.

Weekend Outlook

A disturbance in the mid-levels of the atmosphere will cause those scattered snow showers to hold on Saturday, coverage could possibly pick up a bit too. Accumulations will be harder to come by due to the warmer ground, but also with the wind expected. Major road impacts are not expected, but you’ll likely see some icy patches here and there (especially on overpasses). Overall, if you do see snow accumulating, it’s likely to add up to around 1″ or less.

Highs on Saturday make their way up to 28 degrees only, wind chills will mostly be in the teens with the west wind still gusting to 40 mph, then lows Saturday night fall to 21 degrees again.

Sunday will see dry weather with decreasing clouds, plenty of sun by the afternoon! We’ll stay on the cooler side with a high of around 38 degrees, but a more recent development is some breeze still holding going into Sunday. We’ll have gusts up to 30 mph from the west.

Warmer weather returns starting next week, take a look in your full TV5 First Alert 7-Day Forecast!

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