TRAVERSE CITY — A heavy round of lake-effect snow and gusty winds is making its way to northwest Lower Michigan, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Area residents are expected to wake to rain Wednesday but cooling temperatures throughout the day will start powering on the lake-effect snow machine sometime that afternoon, with an area centering on Kalkaska County and eastern Antrim County looking at high potential for 8 inches of snow or more. The National Weather Service Gaylord office has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Antrim, Charlevoix, Crawford, Kalkaska and Otsego counties, in effect from Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning, calling for between 5-9 inches of snow with localized amounts of 10 inches or even more possible.
AccuWeather’s WinterCast reports Traverse City’s most likely outcome to be 4-8 inches of snow from early Thursday into Friday morning. Areas farther west won’t be off the hook entirely, such as in Frankfort, where 2-4 inches is expected to fall.
Snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour under the strongest lake-effect bands could lead to quick accumulation on local roads. Wind direction will have a heavy impact on which areas see the most snowfall — even small direction changes can have a dramatic effect, according to an NWS report.
Sustained winds of 15-25 mph with gusts hitting 45 mph or more will combine with the snowfall to create rapid drops in visibility and drifting on area roads, NWS Gaylord Meteorologist Dan Cornish said, but the strongest gusts aren’t necessarily linked to the heaviest snowfall.
“Blowing snow will likely cause the greatest travel concerns,” Cornish said during a Monday morning webinar.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyryn Garza highlighted north-and-south-running roads, which could see some “dangerous crosswinds.” Garza said later Wednesday afternoon into midday Thursday looks to feature the worst conditions, but the heavy snow and windy conditions will linger for a while afterward.
“It’s not really ideal given the upcoming holiday,” Garza said. “We can expect poor travel conditions throughout Thanksgiving.”
Wind chills are forecasted to fall into the teens across the region, possibly into the single digits at times in some locations.
After conditions begin to calm Friday, Garza said the coming weekend looks to start dry but Sunday into Monday could bring mixed precipitation or flurries. High temperatures are expected to trend in the 30s into next week.