GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Cold, but quiet conditions will prevail around West Michigan Tuesday, but most media outlets are already making noise about a band of snow that will move into the Mid-Atlantic region during the day.
As shown in the map above, the heaviest band of snow will work its way from West Virginia through Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, directly into the New York metro area by Tuesday evening. Accumulations of four to eight inches will be common in the darker blue colors. While that amount of snow isn’t that extreme by West Michigan standards, it will be hitting some of the most populated regions of the country. As a result, national media outlets are freaking out in anticipation. The federal government has already decided to shut down in Washington, D.C., and schools and universities have closed all around the region, despite the fact that in many locations, snow won’t begin until later in the day. Still, we’ve seen what a little snow can do to rush hour traffic around Grand Rapids; you can imagine how snowfall can turn the usual gridlocked commute on the East Coast into an hours-long ordeal.
Closer to home, snow will stay out of most places in West Michigan during the day Tuesday as winds keep the majority of the lake-effect snow offshore. Still, even with some sunshine, temperatures will barely climb back into the double digits in the afternoon. Winds will shift gradually back to the northwest and west late Tuesday and allow clouds and, eventually, some snow showers to filter back into West Michigan.
Another wave of snow with some lake enhancement is likely on Wednesday; check out the snow and cold 7 Day Forecaston the Weather page.
