WEST MICHIGAN — It’s no secret that for weeks almost all of our West Michigan area was in a drought. Now? We can’t get rid of the water fast enough. Some areas are in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 inches of rain over the past 14 days.
In a map you’ll only see from FOX 17 and NOAA, this is radar estimated precipitation across Michigan the past 14 days. Areas in magenta (bright pink) represent 10 to 15 inches of rain. Muskegon County, northern Kent County, and southern Newaygo County along with southern Oceana County. Areas in yellow represent about 2 to 4 inches of rain over the same 14 days and include cities like Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint. The lightest amounts of rainfall the past 14 days are in green and include the Detroit metro area with only about 1 to 2 inches falling there.
Some of these locations have had incredible amounts of rainfall over the past two weeks and there is more in the forecast. Another widespread area of potentially heavy rain is expected Wednesday afternoon/evening/night as this moisture-laden frontal system tracks through the state.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the formation of Tropical Storm Gordon in southern Florida is now being tracked by our forecast models to move onshore in southern Mississippi later this week and get caught up in the upper level westerly flow. That flow may track it directly overhead of Michigan Saturday night and Sunday with another two to three inches of rain possible. Of course, the system will NOT have any of it’s characteristics like storm winds and torrential rain, but any additional amounts of rain after the last two weeks here will not be good on an already saturated ground. We should also note that despite the heavy rains of recent, we have no flood warnings in effect at this time…a sign that most of the area was literally bone dry prior to this entire event unfolding.
Make sure to stay up on later forecasts! Get the complete West Michigan forecast from FOX 17 at www.fox17online.com/weather.
