Mid-Michigan residents should expect winter storm weather to persist through Friday, with wind gusts and icing that are likely to cause power outages in the region.
The National Weather Service anticipates the Lansing area will see sleet and snowfall on Wednesday, with freezing rain to ramp up at night.. The area could see up to 40-mile-per-hour winds and more than a half inch of icing.
National Weather Service meteorologist Brandon Hoving says the agency is also monitoring thunderstorms coming in from northern Illinois that could worsen conditions.
“They could be ice producing thunderstorms," Hoving said. "So you could have some areas of fairly intense freezing rain coming down if those storms do hold together.”
Wind and ice accumulation on trees could knock down power lines, causing outages across the state.
Dick Peffley is the general manager of the Lansing Board of Water and Light. He said the organization has maintenance crews on standby to respond to any outages.
“We're hoping not to see it, but we feel we are prepared to tackle whatever Mother Nature throws at us.”
Peffley encouraged residents to ensure their devices are charged and that they have enough food to last for a couple days. He said the agency has meters to automatically detect when outages occur, and more updates will be available on the BWL’s online outage map.
Hoving says to expect a brief warm period before a drop in temperature on Thursday. Below freezing weather will continue into the weekend, with another winter storm likely early next week.