GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — The forecast Wednesday afternoon suggests that commuters may run into a slow drive due to weather. However, like many times this winter so far, those issues are more a result of the timing of snow arriving rather than how much snow will fall.
A quick-moving low-pressure system will slide north of us late Wednesday, dragging a cold front through the Great Lakes. This will allow a band of snow showers to develop mainly after midday, leaving a coating on many roads in time for the afternoon commute. Totals for most areas will stay around an inch or less, with the highest snow amounts coming north of Grand Rapids.
Winds will pick up out of the southwest Wednesday afternoon before shifting and settling down again late Wednesday night. Some lake-enhanced areas of snow are possible as well along the lakeshore north of Holland. Snow will taper quickly tonight to some scattered light lake-effect snow showers, which will likely continue into part of Thursday.
Some additional snow showers are likely Friday and again over the weekend as cold air and weak disturbances continue to rotate through the Great Lakes.
The main event, though, doesn’t arrive until early next week. That’s when Arctic air is expected to plunge into West Michigan, leading to temperatures staying mostly below 20° and allowing heavier lake-effect snowfall to develop. It’s too early to predict how much snow will fall altogether, but the heaviest of it will likely be limited to the lake-effect snow belts southwest of Grand Rapids.
You can always check out the updated 7 Day Forecast on the weather page.
