TRAVERSE CITY — A bit of winter whiplash is coming to the area with a short warmup followed by another round of arctic air.
National Weather Service Gaylord office meteorologists expect high temperatures to hit the mid-30s on Thursday and Friday before a significant drop.
“Frigid air then plunges into the region later in the weekend and early next week,” said NWS Meteorologist Joseph DeLizio. “Especially Sunday through early next week temperatures really plummet.”
The forecast includes lows barely above zero Sunday night and Monday night.
“Accompanying this cold will be periods of lake-effect snow showers — with such cold temperatures likely (to) support small flake size and periods of significantly reduced visibility with any wind/blowing snow,” an area forecast discussion on the NWS website states.
Great Lakes water temperatures are still warmer than average for thIS time of year, leading to below-normal ice coverage on lakes Superior and Michigan.
“This (cold) will definitely increase (ice) in spatial coverage and thickness as well,” DeLizio said.