WEST MICHIGAN - Snow has already accumulated 5" to 10" across the viewing area since Thursday evening and a little bit more will come tonight! By Saturday afternoon, the heavy lake-effect will become flurries. Don't let your guard down though, more accumulating snow will start Saturday evening. Saturday afternoon will be a good time to clean-up from this event before the next wave.
Winter Storm Warnings have been adjusted back to Winter Weather Advisories, which now remain across most of the area until noon on Saturday. Another 1" to 3" is possible during this stretch of time. The heaviest will be north of I-94 and along and west of US-131. The inch to inch and a half will be for those along and south of I-94 and east of US-131.
Winds our going to stay high tonight into Saturday morning. Sustained winds will be between 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. WInds will lighten in the afternoon tomorrow to only 5 to 10 mph. Wind chills tonight and Saturday morning will be between 0° and -10° with the stronger gusts.
Another round of snow will enter from the south & west tomorrow evening, bringing with it 1" to 4" by Sunday morning. The heaviest snow this time around will be south of I-96 and along the lakeshore. If you are northeast of GR, you snow will be closer to the inch. The snow will change to lake-effect again Sunday into Monday, but it will be lighter than Friday's event. A few inches at most will be possible during the light snow Sunday and Monday.
Outside of the snow that will continue for days, the cold will remain a big issue. The system will force a pattern change and drive Arctic air south into the Great Lakes. We expect only teens for highs this weekend and this trend is to continue into next week. Take a look below at the upper level pattern. The image is valid for Sunday at 6 P.M. Those colder, whiter tones is the core of the Arctic air mass arriving Sunday.
Get more information at www.fox17online.com/weather.
RELATED: Here's how you can protect your pipes from freezing this winter
