GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As moisture prepares to move into West Michigan during the day Thursday, details of the forecast continue to shift by the hour.
A few locations north of I-96 already saw a burst of overnight snow that left around an inch on the ground in spots. That band of snow has since moved out of the area, leading to a lull that will continue through the morning drive.
More moisture will arrive in the area by around midday. While that has been falling as a mix of freezing and liquid rain around places like Chicago, it will likely transition to a wet snow as it moves into West Michigan.
Most of the snow through the afternoon will fall north and northwest of Grand Rapids; the heaviest snow will then become more widespread Thursday evening into early Friday morning.
Computer model forecasts show a sharp cutoff of the highest snow totals south and southeast of Grand Rapids; placing this cutoff will be a focus of the forecast later today. Another question that remains to be answered is the potential for freezing rain or sleet to mix with the snow south of Grand Rapids during the day.
Widespread accumulations of four to eight inches are likely, especially from Holland and Grand Rapids northward. Those numbers will drop off as you approach I-94, with little accumulation expected along the Indiana border.
It is entirely possible that embedded bands north of I-96 result in isolated double-digit snow totals by Friday morning.
This forecast continues to evolve as more information comes in; we’ll have updates throughout the day on the Weather page, on the FOX 17 Facebook page, and on FOX 17 News.
