West Michigan – People who live in Michigan are well aware that the Great Lakes have a profound impact on local weather patterns. Examples include heavy lake effect snows in the winter and cooling lake breezes in summer.
As the end of the summer season approaches, another type of unique Great Lakes weather phenomena is possible — the waterspout.
Cool air passing over the relatively warmer waters of Lake Michigan lead to an unstable atmosphere. Given the right wind conditions, waterspouts may form. They typically are fairly small and dissipate fairly quickly. However, occasionally they move on-shore and require the National Weather Service to issue a Tornado Warning.
Our best chance of waterspouts this week will be Tuesday through Thursday with temperatures warming a bit after that.
