WEST MICHIGAN -- Mother Nature will be throwing two more punches at West Michigan this week. More freezing rain is expected overnight into Thursday morning, especially along/north of I-96. Likely not quite as widespread and not quite as heavy Wednesday morning. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES have been posted for Muskegon, Ottawa, Kent, and Ionia Counties through noon Thursday. Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta, and Montcalm Counties will see the freezing rain last longer into Thursday and remain under the advisory through 7 P.M. Thursday.
Anyone north of I-96 is expected to see another .10" to .25" of ice accumulation. Our southern counties may see some light icing mixing in at times, but most of the temperatures will stay above freezing with far less icing expected. See map below.
Temperatures will soar to near record highs (again), but only briefly on Thursday. Upper 40s to low/mid 50s from Grand Rapids southward. Our northern counties will likely be stuck in the 30s! Take a look at what the radar is expected to look like at 9 A.M. Thursday morning. The pink is freezing rain, green just plain rain. The numbers are the expected temperatures at that time.
The next image below shows how things will look at 6 P.M. Thursday. Note how mild the temperatures are from Grand Rapids southward.
Temperatures will crash Thursday night into Friday morning and winds will ramp up significantly. Below is our forecast model showing wind speeds at 3 A.M. Friday. The bigger, whiter number is the sustained wind in miles per hour. The "G" number is the gust, and the arrow shows the direction from which the wind comes. Many westerly by that time. There may be gusts of 45 mph or more!
The last image below shows how the strong winds and falling temperatures will drive the wind chill or feels like temperature below zero by 6 A.M. Friday.
Lake effect snow showers are also likely to begin Thursday night and continue through Friday with reduced visibilities and poor driving conditions along/west of U.S. 131. 1" to 3" of snow is likely. In fact, a "flash freeze" or rapid freeze within just a couple of hours will occur Thursday night with everything freezing rock solid. Please be safe. Get the complete forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
