WEST MICHIGAN - You might think it's way too early to talk about snow in West Michigan, but it hasn't been over the last week. Gaylord this past weekend had a few flakes flying. Look closely at the image below from the Gaylord National Weather Service.
Marquette in the U.P. also had some snow shower activity just a few days ago on October 7. Take a look at the image below from the National Weather Service.
Again, if it seems early, indeed it is! It's far more common to see the flakes flying later this month and into early November. Take a look at the average dates for the first measurable snowfall at the major climate reporting stations here in West Michigan below.
If we look across the entire state at the same stats, you can see those dates vary by location:
This winter favors a moderate La Nina, a cooling of the Pacific Ocean waters in the equatorial region. This cooler water moves eastward toward Central and northern America and forces a change in the upper-level jetstream pattern. See the image of Pacific sea surface temperatures below and what a typical La Nina, El Nino, and normal conditions look like.
Traditionally, it means a milder start to the winter, but a colder/wetter end. We'll see if that holds true. Normal season snowfall totals in Grand Rapids is about 75" to 78". Click here for more on this pattern.
The reason we're mentioning this now is because a series of cold fronts will march through Michigan over the next few days bringing in reinforcing colder air and lake-effect rain showers. It's possible some wet flakes may mix in Thursday night/Friday A.M. as temps drop into the 30s, but most of us likely won't see that. The best chance is along/north of U.S. 10 and further north in the higher elevations toward Cadillac and Grayling. For the more short-term forecast, click on www.fox17online.com/weather.
