WEST MICHIGAN — Quiet weather is in the forecast for today with sunshine, mixed clouds, and temperatures near 70 degrees. We keep the forecast dry.
A big rain-producer appears to be lining up for the back half of the weekend, however. An area of low pressure approaches from the west on Sunday sending a shield of rain into West Michigan during the early morning hours.
In fact, a Flood Watch takes effect Sunday morning and goes through Monday morning for all of West Michigan.
This rain will continue into the afternoon going heavy at times. Watch out for ponding on roadways and localized flooding. Thunder is a possibility but severe weather is unlikely.
Models indicate that rain should be pretty persistent through the day on Sunday with rain only finally showing a true diminishing trend at some point later Sunday evening into Monday morning.
Scattered showers and gloomy conditions will continue to be around on Monday but precipitation rates will be much lighter at that time.
This slow-moving system across the Great Lakes may actually keep a light shower going into Tuesday morning before fading away completely through the afternoon. Rain amounts look impressive with this system. The viewing area as a whole will see 1-3" of rainfall with a few areas getting a bit more than that. Again, look out for ponding on area roadways and localized flooding.
This weather disturbance will keep temperatures well below normal from Sunday through Tuesday with highs ranging from the upper 50s to lower 60s. The system is to stall out between the Ohio & Tennessee Valleys into the middle of this coming workweek. How close it ultimately stalls to southern Michigan will dictate how much of an effect we feel in terms of added clouds and the cooling effect on temperatures.
The system may actually lift back northward later Thursday into Friday in a weakened state returning a couple more showers at that time. Keep in mind, upper-level lows are very fickle in their tracks and models have a tough time detecting where they ultimately go. Therefore, anticipate some degree of change to the forecast as we go through the next few days.
Nonetheless, even with the close proximity of the system deep into this coming week, the weakening nature of the system will allow for the surrounding air mass to warm with time and thus a warming trend is still expected, just at a slower rate than advertised a few days back. The prospect for an 80 degree temperature is still on the table but is now focused on next weekend and into Memorial Day Monday.
Stay tuned to future forecasts folks!
