Wet Winter Storm, Frozen Surfaces Could Cause Flooding in Metro Detroit
Metro Detroit could see upwards of three inches of rain, which is unusual for this time of year. The National Weather Service warns it could cause flooding.
A strong, moisture-laden storm is impacting Metro Detroit starting tonight through Sunday morning.
Meteorologist Kyle Klein with the National Weather Service in White Lake says the strength of the system isn’t unusual, but the amount of rain is.
“The amount of rain that’s coming is not common. We don’t normally see two to three inches of rain this time of year.” – Kyle Klein, National Weather Service
“It’s not super uncommon to have warmer storms come through in the winter,” says Klein. “I know we probably haven’t had a lot of them over the past few years since we’ve had a few cold winters. But the amount of rain that’s coming is definitely not super common. We don’t normally see two to three inches of rain this time of year.”
Klein warns that the frozen ground could create lots of extra runoff.
“Usually the creeks will rise quicker and they can quickly fill up just based on getting a lot of rain in a small area. Where the larger rivers, they might be a little bit delayed and they will peak a little bit after the heaviest rain is done.”
If the storm’s track trends further south, areas along and north of M-59 could see some ice accumulations. Up north is forecast to be a lot whiter, with parts of the state set to get over a foot of snow.
Tune in to 101.9 WDET for weather updates.
