GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Most of West Michigan will see partly sunny and dry conditions for Thanksgiving Eve, but travelers may still be affected by lake-effect snow and cascading effects of a big storm system moving up the East Coast.
A very broad storm system is bringing wet and windy conditions to nearly the entire eastern seaboard. As of 8:00 A.M. Wednesday, significant airport delays were already being reported at Baltimore/Washington International, Philadelphia, and LaGuardia in New York City. Only a couple of flights were being delayed in and out of Grand Rapids, though. You can check out live flight information for Gerald R. Ford International Airport at this link.
Closer to home, a band of lake-effect snow had already left as much as five or six inches of snow from South Haven through Dowagiac and into parts of Berrien County. Lesser amounts of three or four inches were reported in parts of Oceana and Mason counties.
Bands of snow will continue to hug the lakeshore north of Muskegon and south of Holland throughout the day Wednesday, leaving at least a couple more inches in those locations. Travel will be most affected on I-94 west of Lawrence, and on I-196 south of Saugatuck. However, for drivers heading to or from the Chicago region, snow will let up by the time you get to the Illinois/Indiana border.
A quick-moving weather system will help to shut down some of the lake-effect snow during the night Wednesday night, but then spread snow showers into the rest of West Michigan early in the day Thursday. One to two inches of snow appear possible in many locations, with lower totals south and east of Grand Rapids (including Kalamazoo/Battle Creek). A bit more snow is likely to the north and west, where places like Grand Haven, Muskegon, Fremont, and Hart may see some additional lake enhancement to bring totals into the two-to-four-inch range.
Black Friday shoppers and travelers over the rest of the holiday weekend will see high pressure bring snow to an end, with high temperatures moderating back into the upper 30s.
You can find more, including interactive radar and the 7 Day Forecast, on the Weather page.
