WEST MICHIGAN — Looking for a little taste of spring? Mother nature is delivering!
A developing system tracking northward into southern Lower Michigan will begin impacting the region by tonight into Thursday. It will bring steady to moderate rainfall, strong gusty winds, and briefly warmer temperatures. Many communities could make a run at 50 degrees for high temperatures on Thursday. There are several layers to this upcoming system. Below is a breakdown of what you need to know for the rest of your workweek.
Latest Alerts
A Winter Weather Advisory and Wind Advisory have been posted due to the approaching system.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY has been posted for Osceola, Clare, Mecosta, and Isabella counties from 4 a.m. until 10 a.m. Thursday due to the chance of mixed precipitation. A mix of snow, rain, and some freezing rain could lead to slick travel in this region. Snow accumulation up to 1" will be possible, along with ice accumulation up to a light glaze.
A WIND ADVISORY has been posted for Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, and Jackson counties from 10 a.m. Thursday until 7 p.m. Thursday. The advisory extends until 11 p.m. Thursday for Allegan, Ottawa, and Van Buren counties. Sustained winds between 20 to 25 mph will be likely, along with wind gusts up to 50 mph. Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects, tree limbs could be blown down, and power outages are possible.
Timing of Precipitation
Precipitation will initially approach from the south as rain. Showers are expected to arrive shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, moving directly north. Below is the estimated Future Track by 2 a.m. Thursday morning.
Heavy rain will progress through the rest of the early morning hours, especially near I-94. When you plan to leave your home Thursday morning, you'll need your rain gear. Some freezing rain and mixed precipitation will be possible north of I-96 and near Big Rapids early Thursday morning. Ice accumulation of a light glaze will be possible, so take your time traveling in this region.
Rain will continue to fall through the first half of your Thursday before cooler air wraps into West Michigan. The cooler air will transition rain over to snow by the late afternoon and evening on Thursday. Below is the estimated radar by 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
Light snow showers will be scattered in nature for the rest of Thursday night and all day on Friday.
Temperatures
You might be wondering, why we'd mention it feeling like spring on Thursday if snow is in the forecast. Well, you'll like this part. Temperatures are expected to make a run at 50 degrees on Thursday before the cooler air wraps in. Warmer air will be surging in from the south, making rain the primary precipitation with this system.
Cooler air transitions rain over to snow through the second half of Thursday into Friday. Any precipitation that falls on Friday will mainly be snow as high temperatures will only be in the middle 30s! The high temperature in Grand Rapids on Friday will be 36 degrees.
Amount of Precipitation
Steady to moderate rain is likely on Thursday, especially during the morning hours. The estimated amount of rainfall by 6 p.m. Thursday will be between 1.0" and 1.25" across the region. West Michigan truly needs this rain, so we'll take any that we can get!
Any snow that accumulates between Thursday and Friday will be light. Based on the most recent models, the estimated amount of snow will be under 1" by 11 p.m. Friday evening.
Strong Wind Gusts
Last, but not least, in this weather breakdown is the strong wind gusts that are anticipated with this system. The low pressure system will be rotating over the state, so that will provide various directions of the wind at various times. By 3 p.m. Thursday, winds will be strong from the southwest with gusts up to 50/55 mph. The strongest winds are expected along/south of the I-94 corridor and at the immediate lakeshore.
Winds will shift coming from the west and northwest by Thursday evening. By 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the strongest wind gusts will be along the lake shore.
Some isolated wind gusts could reach up to 55 mph on Thursday. Calmer weather returns to West Michigan by this upcoming weekend! Sunshine will be possible on Saturday and Sunday. There will be several days over the next week that could see high temperatures in the 40s.
Stay tuned with the FOX 17 Weather Team for updates. You can always download the FOX 17 Weather App for the latest forecast video.
