WEST MICHIGAN — The well below normal temperature pattern that has descended upon us recently looks to stick around for awhile. Though the chill will ease heading into this weekend and beyond, no sustained warm-ups look to be likely for the next 7-10 days.
After Wednesday's snow, a chilly scenario stays in play on Thursday under a good deal of sunshine. Readings gain a little bit of ground and reach the lower half of the 40s. Any snow on vegetation Thursday will be gone by the evening. Brisk west winds, however, at 10 to 20 mph gusting to 25-30 mph will have wind chills in the lower 30s.
A quick moving wave of low pressure will slide to our south overnight Thursday into Friday morning bringing snow showers into northern Indiana, northern Ohio and southern Michigan. The heaviest snow will likely stay south of I-96. However, a few inches are possible along/south of I-94 to the Michigan/Indiana border into early Friday afternoon. The snow will stick mainly on the grass, elevated surfaces, bridges and overpasses. See the snow totals in the thumbnail image tied to this story.
Sunshine should return by the evening, but this snowy system will lock us in the clouds the majority of the day. West winds, though still showing a touch of a breeze, will be considerably lighter than previous days.
How about that weekend forecast? Well, Saturday is looking pretty decent and the better of the two weekend days with mostly sunny skies from start to finish. Breezy winds pick up again out of the southwest at 10 to 20 mph, gusting to 25 to 35 mph. This will help carry numbers back into the mid 50s.
A weak cold front takes aim on the region Sunday morning increasing clouds and offering up the potential for a light shower or two mainly during the mid-morning to early afternoon time frame. High temps will not get much higher than the lower 50s, though some sun could materialize during the evening.
Looking into next week, a theme of slightly below normal to near normal temperatures will continue. Though the overall pattern looks reasonably quiet with no major storms, a general northwest flow pattern at upper levels is likely to keep any big warm-ups at bay. On days where we get good sunshine, however, we will undoubtedly experience some nice afternoons with temperatures well into the 50s.
