GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — New data Wednesday morning suggests more parts of West Michigan will see heavy snow late Thursday into early Friday.
An upper-level disturbance and an area of low-pressure will combine as they move into the Great Lakes Thursday, resulting in bands of heavy snowfall developing across parts of the region.
Snow will start Wednesday night, mostly after midnight, and continue to develop through the daytime hours of Thursday. For many locations, though, there will be little accumulation through midday Thursday. The heaviest and most widespread snow now appears it will fall late Thursday afternoon into Thursday night. Snow will gradually diminish early Friday morning.
The heaviest snow will fall generally north and northeast of Grand Rapids, where totals of six to twelve inches are possible. Much less snow will be likely as you head toward I-94 and the Indiana border, where about one to four inches should fall. Locations in the central portions of the FOX 17 viewing area will be a bit more difficult to forecast, as there looks to be a sharp edge to the heaviest bands of snow.
However, there is increasing confidence in the idea that most places from Kent and Ottawa counties northward will see at least five or six inches of accumulation.
The greatest impact from the snow will come during the late afternoon and evening hours of Thursday — the afternoon commute will be a mess for much of the area.
However, there are still a couple of elements working in our favor. Temperatures will be in the 20s and low 30s, so road conditions will become more slushy than icy, and the snow will be a bit easier for road crews to dispose of (although the wetter snow will be more difficult to shovel). Also, there is no lake-effect snow or Arctic air behind this system, so once it is out of the area, conditions should improve fairly quickly during the day Friday.
This weather system will only be in the developing stages during the day Wednesday, so it is likely that the forecast will undergo some tweaks before snow arrives. We’ll have updates on FOX 17 News, on the Weather page, and on the FOX 17 Facebook page the rest of the day.
