As December is off to a snowy start, southeastern Wisconsin can expect more precipitation this week.
That may come as a rain-snow mix Dec. 9-10.
Aidan Kuroski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan, said a small system moving in the night of Monday, Dec. 8, may bring a dusting of snow, but the week’s primary precipitation event will likely start Dec. 9 afternoon.
“It’s going to come through mostly in the evening and overnight hours Tuesday,” Kuroski said.
The event will begin with snow, then may shift to a rain-snow mix by Dec. 9 evening. The precipitation will continue overnight, when rain may become more dominant, Kuroski said. By Dec. 10 morning, it should transition back to snow, which may linger through the afternoon.
While there are some concerns for icy conditions, depending on how cold the ground temperature stays, Kuroski said the event should not bring widespread, long-lasting ice.
“As this thing tracks through, generally the temperature of the water will overcome the surface temperature and allow for those icing concerns to be mitigated,” he said.
The rain is partially a result of a slight rise in temperatures, as temperatures in the teens and 20s may raise to a high of mid-30s in Milwaukee. But that possible above-freezing temperature will not last; Kuroski said temperatures are expected to return to the single digits across most of southern Wisconsin by the night of Dec. 10.
Kuroski said that the amount of snow southern Wisconsin can expect is still undetermined, but will likely be less than 4 inches.
The line of rain-snow mix is expected to be about the Wisconsin Dells through the Milwaukee area, and maybe a little further, Kuroski said. However, that prediction may change.
“There’s still quite a bit of uncertainty with this event, because if it shifts even a little bit further south, more snow comes in and then we’re obviously talking about less rain,” he said.
Still more snow will likely hit the Milwaukee area through the rest of the week.
Kuroski said the other snowfalls throughout the week will likely not bring large totals. The snow is expected to be scattered, but one system should move in the night of Thursday, Dec. 11 into Friday, Dec. 12, he said.
“With how cold it’s going to be, any clouds might squeak out some flurries,” Kuroski said.
The weekend may bring widespread temperatures in the negatives, he said.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: During week of scattered flurries, rain and snow mix may hit Milwaukee
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
