Major Winter Storm Expected To Hit Before Christmas: MI Weather

MICHIGAN — A major winter storm is on track to hit Michigan this week that will strongly disrupt holiday travel, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters expect the powerful storm to cross Michigan on Thursday and Friday, just before a blast of arctic air that will push temperatures below 20 degrees with even colder wind chills on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to the National Weather Service.

AccuWeather said confidence is growing that a significant storm will evolve this week, bringing a wide swath of snow, rain and fierce winds. Michigan is included among states with a"poor" travel outlook later this week leading into the holiday weekend.

Although it's early, forecasters expect the storm to bring mostly rain to the Metro Detroit area, while the northern parts of the state, including the Upper Peninsula, will get mostly snow, according to the National Weather Service.

The rain in the lower portions of the state, including the Detroit area, could transition into a wintry mix and then possible straight snow Friday afternoon, possibly dumping a couple inches of snow by Friday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Here's the full forecast for Southeastern Michigan from the National Weather Service:

Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. West northwest wind 6 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Calm wind.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 6 mph in the morning.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. South southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Thursday: A chance of snow before 10am, then a chance of rain and snow between 10am and 1pm, then rain likely after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Thursday Night: Rain before 4 a.m., then freezing rain. Cloudy, with a low around 21.

Friday: Freezing rain before 7am, then snow. Cloudy, with a high near 35. Breezy.

Friday Night: Snow likely, mainly before 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 12. Breezy.

Saturday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 20. Breezy.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 10. Breezy.

Christmas Day: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 19.