WEST MICHIGAN -- Two weeks ago it was the Arctic temps and polar vortex. Last week it was a freezing rain/sleet icy mix that crippled the area with hundreds of school closings for days and more than 155,000 people without power. This week? Two more significant winter storms from Mother Nature bringing a mixed bag of ice, snow, and one additional component...wind!
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES have already been posted from 7 P.M. Monday through 1 A.M. Wednesday as system number one tracks into Michigan from the central plains of Texas and Oklahoma. See graphic below.
The scope of this system is pretty huge...with advisories and watches posted across several states...see those areas below.
By late Monday evening/night the mixed bag of precipitation will be spreading northward into southern lower Michigan. See our forecast model below valid for midnight Tuesday.
By 3 A.M. Tuesday you can see the darker blue of heavy snow from Grand Rapids northward with freezing rain (in pink) becoming a bit more expansive below.
And finally by 6 A.M. Tuesday we expect significant impacts for our morning commuters and for school kids. See map below valid on Tuesday morning.
Areas along/south of I-94 will see more rain/freezing rain/sleet and less snow...about 1" to 2" through Tuesday night. Just south of Grand Rapids about 2" to 4" of snow will fall with up to .10" of ice mixing in. Our largest area in light blue picks up about 3" to 6" of snow by Wednesday morning with minimal amounts of ice. Locations well north/west of Grand Rapids that see all snow may very well measure at least six inches. See map below!
Again...another similar storm system arrives Thursday P.M. into Friday with more heavy snow likely and perhaps some freezing rain early on. Please be safe. Get the complete forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
