DETROIT – Rain in Southeast Michigan is expected to quickly transition to snow early Wednesday. These light snow showers are forecast to linger into the afternoon.

This could mean snow accumulations of just a dusting in some areas to a half inch in other locations. Some localized amounts could reach one inch of snow.

Farther north, a Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for eastern Huron and northeastern Sanilac counties through Thursday morning. In this area, heavy lakeshore snow bands could lead to 5 to 7 inches of snow.

Much colder air is moving into the region late this week and into next weekend. Thursday morning’s wind chills could drop to negative single digits for most areas.

Here are the forecast highlights for the Detroit area from the National Weather Service:

Light snow showers are expected across Southeast Michigan Wednesday morning before an Arctic airmass pushes lake moisture further south. Most areas will see minimal additional snowfall, with accumulations of just a dusting.

The eastern Thumb region is the exception. A winter storm watch has been issued for eastern Huron and northeastern Sanilac counties, where snowfall totals could reach 5 to 7 inches by Thursday morning. North-northwest winds are expected to draw Lake Huron banding over areas along and east of a Port Austin-Port Sanilac line from late Wednesday afternoon through early Thursday morning.

The core of the Arctic airmass will settle over the central Great Lakes Wednesday through Thursday. Thursday morning lows are forecast to fall into the single digits, with wind chills ranging from zero to 10 below zero. Thursday afternoon highs will struggle to reach the low 20s, with some areas in the Thumb expected to top out only in the teens.

Temperatures will moderate slightly Friday ahead of another weather system dropping out of northern Canada. This Clipper system is expected to bring widespread accumulating snowfall of 1 to 2 inches on Friday, followed by scattered lake effect snow showers and flurries. Arctic air will return for the weekend.

The top defensive back on Kyle Whittingham’s Utah team in 2025 is heading to Michigan.

Cornerback Smith Snowden, a two-year starter who earned second-team all-Big 12 honors last season, has committed to the Wolverines in 2026, he announced on Tuesday.

Listed at 5 foot 10 and 185 pounds, Snowden made 23 starts and 35 appearances over the last three years in Salt Lake City. He started all 12 regular-season games for Utah in 2025, leading the cornerbacks with 37 tackles (two for a loss) and the team with 11 passes defended.

Snowden finished last year with nine pass breakups and two interceptions, one each against Cincinnati and Kansas.

He also saw some playing time on offense, rushing eight times for 40 yards and a touchdown and catching 13 passes for 57 yards.

The Lehi, Utah, native made 11 starts at nickel in 2024, totaling 48 tackles (four for a loss), eight pass breakups and two interceptions. Snowden led the team with nine third-down stops that year.

Snowden saw immediate playing time as a true freshman in 2023, appearing in 11 games on defense and special teams. He added kick-return duties to his plate in 2024 and 2025.

A former four-star recruit, Snowden was a three-time first-team all-state selection at Skyridge High School, where he finished with 16 career interceptions and helped lead the school to a state title in 2022.

Snowden joins a Michigan secondary that could use the help. The Wolverines are set to return starting cornerbacks Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry, but lost starting nickel TJ Metcalf and starting safety Brandyn Hillman to the transfer portal.

On Monday, Michigan added veteran Memphis safety Chris Bracy.

Snowden is the fourth Utah player planning a transfer to Michigan since Kyle Whittingham was named the schol’s head coach on Dec. 26, joining defensive end John Henry Daley, defensive tackle Jonah Lea’ea and receiver JJ Buchanan.

EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo still doesn’t know what to make of the Big Ten this season.

After a wild couple of days, it appears as open as ever. as does the opportunity for Michigan State basketball to repeat as regular-season champion.

“I said in the middle of December, we’d know something. We kind of did. In the middle of January, do we know much more?” the Spartans coach said after practice Sunday, Jan 11. “You see so many teams getting beat and not getting beat. I think parity is at an all-time [high].”

Only two unbeatens remain in Big Ten play, with the 12th-ranked Spartans (14-2, 4-1) among three teams with one loss. To maintain pace in the competitive conference race requires continuing to win at home as MSU hosts Indiana (12-4, 3-2) on Tuesday (7 p.m., Peacock).

Here’s what to watch for in the first of two meetings between the Spartans and new-look Hoosiers.

A reputation for Jeremy Fears Jr.

There was a definitive pivot point in MSU’s 76-66 victory over Northwestern on Thursday, as the slow start was followed by a focused finish from Jeremy Fears Jr.

The third-year sophomore point guard got into early foul trouble with two blocking calls going against him and sat for nearly nine minutes of his scoreless first half.

“The thing is, you gotta be smart about how you do it,” he said. “You still kind of gotta play with that aggressive mindset, but also just be a little more smart at the same time, which is hard. That’s why you know usually if you get one, anything can happen.”

Nearing the midway point of the second half, Fears was knocked to the ground with no call in front of the his bench. Izzo was whistled for a technical foul with 13:49 to play and the Spartans trailing by seven after a four-point possession for the Wildcats.

“It’s hard with Jeremy because he falls a lot,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “Some of them are fouls, and some aren’t. He’s good at it – I mean that in a good way – so at times, he can be tough to officiate because he’s really good at selling stuff.”

After a brief stint on the bench with Izzo, Fears took control. He scored 13 of his 15 points in the final 10:27, including nine during a nine-minute, 24-7 takeover in the aftermath of Izzo’s technical.

Fears also hit three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt after the Wildcats had cut it back to a three-point deficit during that stretch. That was the moment Chris Collins said he’d rather have back, preferring to let Fears – who is 4-for-25 beyond the arc over his past nine games – take the shot.

“He’s a vet point guard,” Collins said. “I’ve been watching him play ever since he was a young guy, growing up in Chicago. He just stayed on the bench when he got those two early fouls and he had to go sit. That’s what a veteran stud point guard does – he comes back in the game, he steadies the ship. And then he made a lot of huge plays down the stretch.

“The kid’s a winner, I got nothing but respect for him.”

Jaxon Kohler grows

If he had enough makes, Jaxon Kohler would rank among the nation’s best 3-point shooters.

Not that the senior’s 53.3% shooting from deep isn’t already impressive. After entering the season a career 33.9% shooter in 56 attempts behind the arc, the 6-foot-9 Kohler is showing off his improved shot by making 32 of 60 through the first 16 games. That included an 11-for-15 run in his past three games.

Equally as impressive are Kohler’s 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds, both team highs. The Spartans haven’t had a player average a double-double over a full season since Xavier Tillman did it in 2019-20 with 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds a game. The only other player to achieve that under Izzo was Draymond Green in 2011-12 (16.2 points/10.6 rebounds).

Indiana update

It’s a new-look Hoosiers squad under first-year coach Darian DeVries, who arrived from West Virginia and brought along 13 new faces.

Indiana lost every scholarship player from a year ago to the portal or graduation, with only two walk-ons back from former coach Mike Woodson’s final roster. Among the players DeVries added included his son Tucker, a 6-7 forward averaging 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. Joining him is 6-6 swingman Lamar Wilkerson, a Sam Houston State transfer who’s averaging 20.3 points a game overall and a league-leading 27.4 in Big Ten play.  Two others Hoosiers are scoring in double figures: 6-3 guard Tayton Conerway (12.3 points and 4.3 assists) and 6-10 reserve forward Reed Bailey (10.4 points and 4.5 rebounds).

All five IU starters average at least 3.3 rebounds a game and four average 2.8 assists or better.

“They’ve got a lot of guys that can score the ball,” Izzo said. “They shoot a lot of 3s. They seem to be very balanced offensively and defensively. Very well-coached. It’s a good team.”

The Hoosiers are 55th in scoring offense (84.5 points per game) and tied for 55th in scoring defense (68) while also ranking 55th in field goal percentage (48.3%). Indiana averages 36.8 rebounds a game but just 9.7 on the offensive glass, which is tied for 298th in Division I.

Izzo has never coached against DeVries, a 50-year-old who is 181-72 in eight seasons as a head coach, including six years at Drake and a one-year stopover at West Virginia last season.  

“It’s a little more prep for us, because we know nothing about them,” Izzo said, adding that the same holds for DeVries and his staff in preparing for MSU.

Michigan State basketball vs Indiana prediction

After a settling-in and feeling-out start, the Spartans begin to increase the tempo to assert its pace on a Hoosiers team that does not get out well in transition. That leads to big games for Fears and Coen Carr as MSU closes out a perfect three-game homestand before hitting the road for three of its next four. The pick: MSU 81, Indiana 74.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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