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Rain, snow, freezing rain, and thunderstorms tomorrow

Posted at 6:59 PM, Apr 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-02 18:59:33-04

WEST MICHIGAN — A plethora of weather will occur over the area tomorrow morning through Wednesday. A low pressure system developing in eastern Colorado will quickly move east overnight, and pull a warm front towards the area. This warm front will carry a mix of rain, snow, and freezing rain into the area tomorrow morning as the image below shows:

As the warm front continues to edge northward, enough warm air should reach most of the area for a change-over to rain showers in the afternoon. The exceptions may be our northernmost communities where temperatures stay colder longer. Here, the snow/freezing rain mix could hold on through the day:

The yellow and orange coloring in the image above is indicative of thunderstorm activity. Thunderstorms will indeed be possible along and south of I-94 tomorrow afternoon and early evening. In fact, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has parts of the area in a Marginal Risk for severe weather:

With our forecast model only suggesting highs in the lower 40s at best in these areas, severe weather now actually looks very unlikely despite the SPC outlook. Here is a look at estimated high temperatures per Future Track HD:

If any severe weather does develop, it would probably occur south of I-94 and be limited to marginally severe hail, which is around 1″ in diameter.

After changing over to rain showers Tuesday afternoon in most areas, we’ll see the precipitation change back over to snow late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning:

Snow totals will reach 1 to 2 inches in most areas by Wednesday morning, with some 2 to 4 inch totals well to the north of I-96:

With the icy mixture of precipitation expected tomorrow, many areas are under a Winter Weather Advisory beginning at 2 AM:

For most areas, this advisory expires at 11 AM Tuesday. But with the possibility of heavier snow to the north Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, this advisory actually expires at 8 AM Wednesday in Oceana, Newaygo, and Mecosta counties:

In the extended forecast, we’ll get a bit of a break from the snow on Thursday, but more accumulating snow is possible on Friday. High temperatures will finally warm back into the 40s (which is still below average) for Sunday and Monday. Here’s a look at your extended forecast, and stay tuned to FOX 17 for updates!