GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Shifting winds allowed clouds to break up around West Michigan Monday morning, but despite the sunshine, temperatures started the day bitterly cold in most locations. Readings dipped into at least the single digits around most inland spots, with Grand Rapids and Battle Creek bottoming out at 3°, and Kalamazoo at 5°.
Those weren’t the coldest places, though, with many cities registering below-zero numbers early in the morning as well. Ionia saw -1°, Big Rapids briefly dropped to -6°, Marshall was -5°, and Coldwater dropped to -7°. Even those temperatures were no match for northern Michigan, however, as Pellston fell to -20° and Grayling registered -21°.
The cold weather caused a number of West Michigan schools to close, despite very little new snow overnight, as the frigid temperatures allowed damp or snow-covered roads to become icy in some communities.
Most of Monday will feature dry conditions and partial sunshine until the next disturbance rolls in from the west late in the day. Some snow showers may redevelop near the lakeshore in the mid- to late-afternoon hours, with the bulk of the snow moving through West Michigan during the evening. Pretty much everyone will see up to two inches of new snow just from the quick-moving system itself, but we will watch areas west and northwest of Grand Rapids in particular for higher totals due to the potential for lake enhancement with winds from the south and southwest Monday night. Some locations like Muskegon, Fremont, Hart, and Coopersville may end up with 2 to 4 inches or more by Tuesday morning. Parts of Kent and Allegan counties may also get in on some additional snowfall as well.
Another wave of snow will be likely on Tuesday, followed by some improvement through the rest of the workweek. You can check out the full 7 Day Forecast on the Weather page.
