WEST MICHIGAN — After several days of near perfect conditions across West Michigan, we look for much cooler weather to blow into the region for the weekend. The coolest air in five months is expected to arrive.
The last time we had an afternoon high temperature in the 40s was on May 2, when a max reading of 49 degrees was registered in Grand Rapids. The current forecast has us only hitting 49 degrees this Saturday.
High temperatures this workweek have been 67, 69, 70, and 73 respectively for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday respectively. We'll see mild temperatures on Friday, but clouds, showers, and breezy conditions.
The low pressure system, which is to change our weather rather dramatically across West Michigan, is gathering over the northern/central United States and will be taking a track from western Iowa northward into southern Minnesota and ultimately northward to the Canadian border by later Friday. Scattered showers will likely develop from a general east to west direction across our viewing area early Friday morning and into the day.
The better chance for more widespread rain and perhaps a few thunderstorms comes late morning into the afternoon and early evening hours. Total rain amounts from this system look to fall between 0.75" - 1.00" area-wide by late Friday evening.
This strong fall storm system will send a cold front eastward into West Michigan by late afternoon Friday. This frontal boundary will bring down our coolest air of the fall season thus far.
Before that happens, high temperatures on Friday will reach the mid/upper 60s by the afternoon. Numbers will fall into the lower 50s through the evening. We drop into the upper 30s/lower 40s by daybreak Saturday.
With winds expected to be quite brisk behind the passage of this cold front and with actual thermometer readings in the lower 40s, wind chills can be as low as the lower 30s early on Saturday morning.
Expect a windy Saturday along with chilly high temperatures in the upper 40s, although I would expect some sunshine. It remains quite cool and windy into Sunday as well. Overall, the weekend should give partly sunny skies with the best chance for any wet weather to come in the form of a few isolated showers on Sunday. We will also see large waves on Lake Michigan on the order of 8 to 12 feet with small craft advisories in effect. There are also lakeshore flood advisories at the immediate lakeshore for beach/dune erosion and some flooding possible in lower lying areas. We may also see cold air funnels form over Lake Michigan this weekend with the warmer waters of the lake, and the colder air coming over the lake. Sometimes this can induce a spinning motion.
Get the complete West Michigan forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
