WEST MICHIGAN — The holiday season is upon us and Christmas is right around the corner! This has many of us in West Michigan wondering ... will we have a White Christmas this year?
Since there are still many days between now and Christmas, there are several factors that could change. However, it's looking more and more likely that snow will be on the ground for Christmas Day.
Cold air is expected to sweep into West Michigan this weekend and next week, bringing several chances for snow. Lake effect snow is in the forecast between Friday, December 16 through Sunday, December 18. Additional chances for light show pop up in the forecast on Tuesday, December 20 through Friday, December 23. These forecast days can be found on our Super 7-day forecast!
Extended forecast models suggest that an even colder air mass shifts in the week before Christmas. This is likely to develop more lake effect snow at times. Below is the upper level temperature pattern for Thursday, December 22. This shows a very large cold air mass shifting into West Michigan the week before Christmas.
In addition to that, the latest Climate Prediction Center suggests a cooler-than-average outlook during Christmas Day. The following outlook below shows that temperatures are likely to be below 35 degrees between December 23 through December 29. We have a 80% chance in West Michigan for cooler-than-average temperatures.
All-in-all, it is looking very likely that West Michigan will be enjoying a White Christmas this year. As this colder air hangs around, it becomes less likely that any snow that does fall will completely melt.
The forecast will become more accurate and complete as we get closer to December 25! Stay tuned with the FOX 17 Weather Team for updates. You can visit www.fox17online.com/weather/ for the latest forecast video and discussion.
