WEST MICHIGAN — As it continues to feel like summer this week with highs in the upper 70s and low to mid 80s and elevated humidity, that sets the stage for strong to severe storms as a cold front moves in Thursday night.
FOX 17 is issuing a Ready Weather Alert for this system.
West Michigan is already highlighted as an area to watch for severe storm potential from the Storm Prediction Center (above). Most of West Michigan is now in a level 3 out of 5 ENHANCED RISK for Thursday night into Friday morning.
There is confidence that the atmospheric ingredients will come together to produce scattered severe storms with damaging straight line winds as the main threat. Heavy downpours and lightning will come along with any storms as well. While damaging winds are the main hazard, large hail and a few spin-up tornadoes can't be ruled out.
TIMING
Initially, Thursday will be dry. Clouds will be increasing along with the breeze, but rain and any thunderstorms will stay out of our hair until the early afternoon. See below for the GRAF model at 3 p.m.
As the cold front gets closer, additional showers and thunderstorms will pop up through late evening. These could occasionally be on the stronger side, especially from 7-8 p.m. onward.
The front will be approaching West Michigan between 10 p.m. and midnight, which is when the best chance of severe storms is. Damaging winds will be the primary threat, but over 1.5" size hail (ping pong ball size) and a few brief spin-up tornadoes can't be ruled out.
Heavy downpours are also expected with any storm, severe or not.
By early Friday morning the front will be east of West Michigan, ending the severe weather threat. The image below is valid for noon Friday.
If the cold front stalls for a few hours, showers and thunderstorms could form near the I-94 corridor later on Friday. Some of those storms could be strong at times, but the overall severe weather threat will be lower for Friday across Michigan.
For the latest details on the weather in West Michigan, head to the FOX 17 Weather page.
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