Dangerous flash-freeze highly possible as Arctic front passes through Michigan next week

Updated: Dec. 15, 2022, 9:07 a.m
By Mark Torregrossa | mtorregr@mlive.com

A drastic temperature drop in a short time period next week could produce a flash-freeze somewhere in the middle U.S.

I want to give you advanced warning of what looks like could be a very dangerous weather situation at a time when many of us will be traveling to see family for Christmas. I feel you should watch the timing and the tweaking of this weather situation with me often through the next week. If you miss a live post on MLive, click here to see my updates.

A flash-freeze is when the temperature drops so quickly that wet roads freeze in minutes. It is dangerous because unprepared drivers race down an interstate on wet, unfrozen roads. The temperatures plunge and wetness turns to ice almost instantly. The going-too-fast drivers can’t slow down quick enough.

I’ve found flash-freezes are rare and need two specific conditions. Firstly, the rain before the temperature plunge has to continue right up to the temperature plunge. Most of the time we have a rain, then the rain stops and the temperature plunges in a few hours. In this case the wind usually blow dries the pavement, and we avoid a flash-freeze. In the situation next week it looks like there could be steady rain right through the moment the temperature plunge occurs. The second needed ingredient is a sharp temperature drop into the 20s. This temperature drop can often be 20 degrees in just a matter of minutes. In the case of next week it certainly looks like a 20 degree temperature drop is possible along the arctic cold front.

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