Huge Storm! Blizzard like conditions through Monday for much of the state

A huge winter storm is heading straight for Central Michigan.

We've been following the models on this system for well over a week, and after several path changes here and there, it looks like this low will track somewhere along the border of Indiana/Michigan, Ohio/Michigan.

The current problem with this system is the warm temps that are in place, however, do not fear, because the temps should begin to quickly fall over the next several hours, and the phasing of the two lows over Illinois and Iowa has begun to fill in the dry slot to our south.

THE FORECAST: The heaviest snow will move in early Sunday morning and last throughout much of the day and into Sunday night. Some areas could see snowfall rates approaching 1.5"/hour. Once the snow lets up, we will, unfortunately, not be finished, as the winds will kick up, ranging from 20-30MPH, and gusts as high as 45MPH, creating near blizzard/blizzard like conditions. I even expect some counties to be upgraded to Blizzard warnings tomorrow.

TRAVEL INFO: Travel for much of Sunday, and even into Monday morning will be very, very treacherous. Nearly 60% of the highways in Iowa have been completely shut down by this storm, and several counties out there are issuing Civil Emergency messages stating to not leave your home unless it is a complete emergency - I've even see one county post that they will not be sending out any emergency personnel unless there are injuries - do I expect it to get that bad here? I'm not completely sure, but I would completely advise against traveling tomorrow, especially in the afternoon and evening hours as the winds really start to kick up.

EXTENDED OUTLOOK: Once this system moves through, we'll be in for some very bitterly cold air for the next several days. Temps in the teens and single digits are certainly possible, with wind chills going below zero. We will get away from the snow for a bit, but later into next week we look at another shot at snow as another system approaches.

Huge storm on the way for this weekend?

The models have been blowing up with an enormous storm that will sweep across the nation later this week, and finally arriving in the Great Lakes region sometime over the weekend.

The GFS has been trending back and forth in a ton of different directions, first taking it to the coast, then taking the low track further west, and now in the most recent runs, it's someplace in between.

The storm should come ashore on Wednesday, which will finally give the computers a full sample, giving the output data a better, more consistent look.

We'll have to keep a close eye on this storm. If everything plays out, it will end up being our first big snowstorm of the season, and it could be huge. Preliminary ideas are showing a ton of moisture, with strong winds and cold temps on the backside, which would likely mean blizzard like conditions.

Stay tuned for further updates throughout the week.