WEST MICHIGAN — After a mild and somewhat breezy Thursday, a cold front will move through overnight with showers expected. Behind this front, winds will quickly pick up out of the west producing another day of large waves and possible beach erosion on Lake Michigan.
During the day on Thursday, winds will be out of the south at 10 to 15 mph, with gusts of around 25 mph possible at times.
The above wind speeds and direction are not favorable for large waves on Lake Michigan today, but that will change Thursday night into Friday morning as that cold front moves through and winds switch to the west.
With wind gusts of 30 mph or higher by the lakeshore early Friday morning, beach erosion looks likely. Even though the National Weather Service hasn't issued any lakeshore flood warnings or advisories as of this morning, they have issued a Gale Warning for the open waters of Lake Michigan and a Small Craft Advisory for the nearshore waters.
The Gale Warning goes from about 10 p.m. tonight through noon Friday, while the Small Craft Advisory goes from 2 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday. Waves could reach 7 to 10 feet along the lakeshore during this time.
The strong winds will continue to be with us on Friday afternoon.
This will continue to make beach erosion a possibility right through the afternoon hours and will make our afternoon highs in the lower 40s feel more like the upper 20s to lower 30s.
After a cool weekend, milder weather will make a return next week. Be sure to tune in to FOX 17 for further updates!
