Brace yourselves: Up to 8 inches of snow to fall starting early Saturday

The National Weather Service on Friday morning issued winter storm warnings for much of Metro Detroit, with snowfall totals expected to reach 7-8 inches in most of the region.

Snow is forecast for the region this weekend, and when it's not snowing, it's expected to rain.

Temperatures will rise into the upper 30s as dry air moves in, causing snow to end and drizzle. Snow will likely last from 1-10 a.m. Saturday.

The bulk of the snow is forecast to fall in a six-hour window. The heaviest snowfall is expected between 4-9 a.m in southeast Michigan, particularly along and north of Interstate 94. The snow will affect visibility on roads and make for hazardous travel, officials warn.

Municipalities are starting to prepare. On Friday, officials for the Oakland County cities of Auburn Hills and Berkley declared a snow emergencies. Auburn Hills has set it effective from midnight Friday through noon Sunday. In Berkley, it's in effect starting at 10 p.m. Friday. City officials will notify the public when it has been lifted. Officials in Taylor declared a snow emergency from midnight Friday until noon Sunday. The declaration means parking is prohibited on residential streets to enable snow removal crews to clear roads as quickly as possible. Vehicles parked on roadways could be ticketed or towed.

The last heavy snowfall was in mid-November, when accumulations were between 8-12 inches in the Upper Peninsula and more than 5 inches in the Lower Peninsula.

Meteorologists aren't expecting the weekend snowfall to break any records.

In Detroit, weekend highs are bouncing from 30-43 degrees with lows sticking around 20 degrees. About 5-6 inches of snow are expected.

Friday will be mostly cloudy with heavy snow starting after 1 a.m. with a low of 26 through the morning. Saturday morning with have snow possibly mixed with rain. Rain is expected throughout the afternoon with a high of 43 until snow picks back up overnight. Sunday starts cloudy with 28 degrees. A low around 16 is expected Sunday night.

In Flint, snow starts Friday night with 4-5 inches of snow after 1 a.m. Meteorologists say the snow could be heavy at times with the low around 24. On Saturday, snow and freezing rain are expected before 10 a.m., then rain, possibly mixed with snow between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., then rain continues through the day with a high of 41.

Saginaw and the Thumb could see 6-7 inches. Ann Arbor and Adrian are also expected to see 6 inches of snow.

In Sandusky, Friday night will have a low around 20 degrees and heavy rain that will continue through Saturday, possibly mixed with freezing rain before noon. Then, rain between noon and 3 p.m. and back to snow for a total of 6-7 inches. It'll briefly stop overnight until Sunday morning when there's a chance of snow and strong winds. The high Sunday will be around 25 until overnight when it drops to 12 degrees.

In Grand Rapids, there will be some sleet or freezing rain possible overnight with snow accumulating between 3-5 inches with another 1-3 inches of snow expected Saturday with a high of 38 degrees. Winds will be increasing from 20-30 mph throughout the day. It'll be cloudy skies Sunday, but much colder with the high at 24 degrees dropping to 14 degrees Sunday night.

In Marquette, 1-3 inches are expected Friday night with 10-20 mph winds. Another 1-3 inches are expected Saturday continued through the night with snowfall around another inch. Windy with snow showers Sunday morning. There's a 40% chance of snow with accumulations of less than one inch and a low of 13 degrees Sunday night.

National Weather Service

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_