WEST MICHIGAN -- Let's face it, we've had a fairly easy winter thus far with reasonably mild temperatures and relatively little snow. In fact, we are running a snow deficit in Grand Rapids of almost 27 inches!
While most of this week will be on the dry and quiet side, an Arctic blast of air looks fairly certain as we arrive at next weekend. That means highs only in the teens and lows in the single digits. That said, it's always normal that an Arctic blast occurs at least once a winter season...so nothing unusual yet.
Things may be frigid next weekend, but that cold may also come with significant snow. It's far from certain, but our forecast models are hinting at the idea of a strong, moisture-laden low pressure system tracking south of the Great Lakes Friday night into Saturday. The track is different on all models, so that means there's nothing concrete yet. Some forecast models give West Michigan 3" to 6", while others are in the 1" to 2" range.
Part two of this weekend could be lake effect snow. Again, our forecast models are indicating northerly winds behind this system over the weekend, which would confine the snow to northern Indiana and Berrien County. If the wind direction changes and becomes more northwesterly, the potential for heavy amounts of lake effect snow in West Michigan is there with Arctic air moving in.
Suffice to say, make sure to stay up on later forecasts. Get your complete forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
