Alpena, MichiganLocal Weather Alerts
There are currently no active weather alerts.

Dropping temperatures Christmas Eve

Much colder temperatures are on the way Christmas Eve. A little unusual, temperatures will drop heading into the afternoon hours. Be aware of the potential of a flash freeze — any rain late Wednesday and any melting that happened will freeze with temperatures dropping to the 20s — icy spots may develop.

Highs Wednesday reached well above normal for late-December — 43 degrees in Alpena, 50 degrees in Green Bay, Wisconsin and 58 degrees in Chicago. But take a look farther west, on the other side of a sharp cold front, highs got up to only 13 degrees in Bismarck, North Dakota and 23 degrees in Rapid City, South Dakota. That colder air shown in the dark blue and purple shading is heading into Michigan Thursday.

A low pressure system is traveling from northern Wisconsin and through the Upper Peninsula this evening. Ahead of it, winds from the south have been bringing in warm temperatures and we’ll have some rain this evening just ahead of its cold front. Most of the snow will miss our area. But following the storm’s departure off to the east of our area, winds will pick up out of the west. Temperatures will drop and some lake effect snow will develop off Lake Michigan. There’s a chance we could see some patchy snow showers around Northeast Michigan, but the bulk of the lake effect snow will remain off to the west.

Thursday: Sharply dropping temperatures, becoming much colder! Predawn temperatures will be in the lower 30s. Temperatures will drop to the middle 20s in the early-afternoon. Evening temperatures will be close to 20 degrees.

Friday: Chance of scattered snow showers, remains cold. Predawn temperatures will begin in the middle teens. Afternoon highs will be near 22 degrees. Evening temperatures will be close to 20 degrees or in the upper teens.

Saturday: A chance of flurries early, drying out around midday with milder temperatures moving in. Early-morning temperatures will be close to 20 degrees. Afternoon highs will be near 30 degrees. Evening temperatures dip to the middle/lower 20s.

For the rest of Northeast Michigan’s weather forecast, watch the latest weather video by clicking the weather tab at the top of the page.