WEST MICHIGAN- We've been talking about it for several days now: the arrival of a stronger fall storm system. While snow isn't too much of a concern for us, some heavy rain and strong winds are main threats ahead.
A strong low pressure center will develop off to our southwest over the next 12 hours. The movement around this low is counterclockwise, so we'll begin with stronger southeast winds Friday.
Winds will eventually move to a southerly direction overnight, which will hold our temperatures steadily in the 40s. Speaking of 40s, I would expect some of our wind gusts at this time to be near 40 mph, but the stronger winds will be on the other side of this approaching cold front.
While Future Track only indicates rain on this particular look, I expect our temperatures by early afternoon to be in the upper 30s. This will depend on the front's movement. If it slows down, temperatures could remain in the 40s most of the day. They will eventually fall, but obviously the sooner the cold air moves in, the more likely you're going to see any snowflakes.
Expect heavy rain on Friday night, with totals by Saturday morning exceeding an inch in some locations. On the other side of the cold front, winds could gust up to 50 mph Saturday evening and night, especially along the lakeshore. That rain will change to snow, and Sunday's forecast is dominated by light lake effect snow.