Junior advertising management major Dom Rea brushes the snow off his car to prepare to drive to IM Sports East to play some basketball on Feb. 8, 2018 at Waters Edge apartments. (C.J. Weiss | The State News)
—Monday was more than just a Veterans Day remembrance. For Michiganders, it also meant snow — and lots of it for those in the south central and southwestern regions of the state.
"When the temperatures fall, they don't recover," Capital Area Ingham County Alerts wrote in an email to the public.
A winter weather advisory was broadcasted early morning around 3 a.m. from the National Weather Service, or NWS, bureau in Grand Rapids and is to stay posted until 7 p.m. tonight.
The advisory warned those commuting — especially in the early morning — to plan ahead for unsafe conditions.
"Even though roads are being treated, they can still be slippery, especially on bridges and overpasses (as they freeze first)," said a National Weather Service representative Brett Borchardt, reminding drivers to stay safe through this first blast of winter weather. "Just take it slow in the snow."
At a high of 29°F, the bulk of the storms hit after daybreak with sub-freezing temperatures.
The precipitation is said to taper off Monday afternoon, leaving the Lansing region with two to four — maybe as much as five by this evening — accumulated inches. Lake enhanced snow bands will continue over Lake Michigan shore areas.
"And then we're going to take the plunge. There will be near record temperatures tomorrow, and possibly tomorrow night. Some of the coldest air we've seen this early in the season," Borchardt said. "We get cold snaps throughout the winter, this one is just a little bit earlier than normal. ... It won't last forever, just a few days. Not unprecedented, but not unusual."
On the bright side, it will be gradually warming back up and temperatures should reach the 30s around Friday and well into the weekend, only going up from there.
"Our normal high this time of the year is 50," Capital Area Ingham County Alerts wrote. Next week we're going to be in the 40s.
"Cover up from head to toe," Borchardt said. With this heavy snow and frigid temperatures, it is going to feel more like January and February rather than November. "Make sure you wear a hat — your head is where you lose heat pretty fast — and make sure you have a kit in your car."
The weather service suggests keeping a small shovel, extra food, and warm clothes in your trunk in case of emergency.
"Nothing we're not used to here in Michigan," he said.
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