WEST MICHIGAN — It was long overdue and we needed it…a chance to regroup, melt off some snow and ice from the power lines and tree limbs, and chip away the coating of ice on our driveways, porches, and sidewalks. Hopefully most of us used the time wisely as another blast of Arctic air is already showing up on the map over the Northern Plains and will be arriving Sunday afternoon.
Most locations across West Michigan saw temperatures rise to anywhere from 40 to almost 50 degrees on Saturday! Last time we had temps this warm you’d have to go all the way back to December 5. The average/normal high for this time of year is 32 degrees.
It’s always a bit more difficult to determine exactly how high the thermometer will go on days like this in the winter. Sometimes the air can be modified by Lake Michigan, sometimes snow off to our south/west of Milwaukee and Chicago can/does modify the air mass, and sometimes a little sunshine can go a long way. What a fabulous day with plenty of sunshine and mild temps.
Our warmest temperatures on Sunday will likely occur at/shortly after midnight in the mid/upper 30s long before the Arctic cold front comes through. The front will pass through the state the first half of the day and temperatures will gradually fall through the afternoon as the colder air mass slowly sinks in from the north/west. We may also see a few light snow showers behind the front as well. The core of the coldest air will be upon us on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with highs only in the teens and lake-effect and some lake-enhanced snow likely as little disturbances (waves of energy) drift through the flow and create snow from time to time as we wrap up 2013. In fact, we’re likely to gain at least a couple more inches of snow before the clock strikes 2014 at midnight Wednesday morning. Currently, Grand Rapids is in the record books for the eighth snowiest December with 31.5″ recorded.
You can always get more by going to www.fox17online.com/weather.
