WEST MICHIGAN — Finally most of the area saw some needed rainfall last night, but in some cases it was too much all at once. At least two rounds of strong thunderstorms left much of the FOX 17 viewing area with 1 to 3 inches of rain. Officially, 0.85″ fell at the Grand Rapids NWS office overnight into early this morning. Locally higher totals were reported, especially to the north of Grand Rapids:
The runoff from these heavy rainfall totals prompted Flood Advisories for much of the morning, but these advisories have since expired.
A number of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were also issued between 9:30 PM and midnight as that first round of storms moved in. Outflow from these storms produced a threat of high winds, but most locations saw peak wind gusts below severe criteria (which is 58 mph or higher). The highest wind gusts were reported at piers on Lake Michigan, at Grand Haven and Roosevelt Park:
Still, non-severe wind gusts in the 40s and 50s can create some damage, as shown by the following viewer picture from Allendale, courtesy of Mandy Beroza:
We’ll be watching for the possibility of more strong to severe thunderstorms Tuesday night into Wednesday morning ahead of a strong cold front. Be sure to keep tuned in to FOX 17 for further updates!
