GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Parts of West Michigan will continue digging out of as much as a foot of snow Thursday, but the break will only be temporary as another storm is poised to move in during the day Friday.
The band of heavy snow was limited to the immediate lakeshore Wednesday and Wednesday night, but the impact of even light snow created significant headaches for many commuters around West Michigan Thursday morning.
Despite official snow totals of less than an inch, major accidents caused backups on several area freeways. Sun may help to improve conditions a bit during the day, but temperatures remaining in the single digits to low teens will keep the possibility of slick spots going throughout Thursday. Clouds and a few lighter lake-effect snow showers may drift back onshore late in the afternoon and into the evening.
Looking ahead, a strong and fast-moving storm system will drag a cold front into the Great Lakes late in the day Friday. Ahead of it, winds will pick up and snow will develop by Friday afternoon. This will start to snarl traffic in time for the evening commute and for anyone trying to get away for the weekend. Snow will continue to increase and affect all of West Michigan through Friday night as additional upper-level energy swings through.
Snowfall forecasts are still preliminary, but most of the FOX 17 viewing area appears likely to pick up between three and six inches of new snow by Saturday morning. These numbers will be likely to change and be refined as the system approaches.
Temperatures will actually peak around or just after midnight Friday night in the mid to upper 20s, just before the cold front moves through. Readings will then drop back into the teens for most of the day Saturday. This will be accompanied by winds that will continue to gust in the 20 to 30 mph range with lake-effect snow showers.
With another disturbance forecast to move through on Sunday, there will be no rest for the winter-weary in West Michigan anytime soon. Check out the full 7 Day Forecast on the Weather page.
