WEST MICHIGAN — As if we need it, more snow fell across West Michigan Sunday morning from a clipper system that dropped in from Canada. About one to three inches was left in its wake, but more is on the way tonight, Monday, and Tuesday as lake-effect begins to kick in, especially along/west of U.S. 131.
A reinforcing blast of Arctic air will also move in to the region Sunday night as temps fall to the single digits and stay there most of the day for Monday. Winds will ramp up from the west later Sunday, but remain steady/brisk through Monday and Tuesday as wind chills dip between -20 and -30 both days. That’s sure to prompt more school closings! Recall we had similar wind chills earlier this month with the first Arctic outbreak!
It doesn’t look like much a break from the polar plunge at this point. Below is the six to 10 day outlook for temperatures from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC). Look at the bull’s eye and high probability of below normal temps across the Northern Plains, Upper Mississippi Valley, and Great Lakes.
Even the eight to 14 day outlook (below) from the CPC shows a similar pattern for our region. In fact, the Arctic air may plunge further south and actually expand encompassing much of the lower 48 states.
This is truly a brutally cold winter (snowy too)! Grand Rapids has already tallied 67.7 inches of snow. A normal season would have us at 46.9 inches, and last year at the same time we had only recorded 18.8 inches. Apparently Mother Nature and Ole’ Man Winter have teamed us this year to bring plenty of cold and snow to the region.
The attached photo was submitted by one of our regular contributors, Bill Beatty, and was snapped on Saturday with a few breaks of sunshine overlooking Muskegon Lake. Such a barren, desolate, empty place of frozen tundra, much like the Arctic or Antarctic in the middle of winter!
You can always get the latest radar, satellite, temperatures, wind chills, and 7-Day forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
