WEST MICHIGAN - Our next weather system will track into the Great Lakes on Thursday afternoon/evening. This time, we expect to initially be on the front side (or warmer side) of this system which means rain to start. Rain will develop across the area Thursday afternoon and continue into Friday morning. Temperatures both Thursday and Friday will make the mid/upper 40s, but actually fall through the day on Friday as colder air drops in behind the low. See image below valid for 6 P.M. Thursday.
We expect widespread rainfall Thursday P.M. through Friday morning yielding between .75" to one inch across the area. See image below for total rainfall.
As temperatures fall on Friday, any rain will mix with and change over to snow where little/no accumulation is likely. See image below valid for Friday at 6 A.M.
Forecast wind speeds can be found below. We expect southwest/northwest winds on Friday at 15 to 30 mph with gusts of 45/50 possible.
Sharply colder air will arrive Friday night into Saturday, which will likely drive some lake effect snow showers. It's possible areas along/west of U.S. 131 may see about a 1" to 3" accumulation during this time. Highs on Saturday will remain mainly in the 20s, while Sunday highs should get to around or just above the freezing mark.
Spring officially arrives Monday at 5:24 P.M.. It's known as the vernal equinox, meaning equal days/equal nights with about 12 hours of day/night. It appears that we may begin another warm up well into the 40s next week. Normal highs for this time of year have us in the middle 40s!
