The official high of 55 yesterday was the 2nd warmest ever recorded on any February 16th at Grand Rapids. The current temperature and overnight low here in my yard is 32. There are now a lot of snow free areas in my yard. And there will be less snow cover in the days ahead. The next seven days will seen a couple rounds of rain and there is a small chance of some snow late week but not a big chance. Highs will range from the mid 50’s before cooling down to near 30.
KEY MESSAGES
CENTRAL MICHIGAN FREEZING RAIN LATE TONIGHT
CHANCE OF A THUNDERSTORM WEDNESDAY MORNING
MIXED PRECIPITATION WITH THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE AGAIN LATE WEEK
LOW CHANCES FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW THIS WEEKEND
Detailed Forecast
Today
Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. East wind 5 to 8 mph.
Tonight
Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 4am. Low around 39. East southeast wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Wednesday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 10am, then a chance of showers between 10am and 1pm. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 56. South wind 10 to 14 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. Southwest wind around 7 mph becoming southeast after midnight.
Thursday
A 30 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 53. East southeast wind 6 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Thursday Night
Showers. Low around 37. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Friday
Rain and snow showers likely, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night
A chance of snow showers before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29.
Saturday
A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35.
Saturday Night
A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26.
Sunday
A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31.
Sunday Night
A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20.
Monday
Partly sunny, with a high near 29.
The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 55/25 there was no rain/snow fall. The day started with 3” of snow on the ground. The highest wind speed was 29 MPH out of the W. For today the average H/L is 34/20 the record high of 55 was in 1911 and 1925 the coldest high of 5 was in 1979 the record low of -19 was in 1973 the warmest low of 41 was in 2011. The wettest was 0.86” in 2008 the most snowfall of 5.6” was in 2014 the most snow on the ground was 23” in 1936.
Some weather history for February 17th 1958, One of the greatest snowstorm of the mid 20th century struck the northeastern U.S. The storm produced 30 inches of snow in interior New England, including more than 19 inches in 24 hours at the Boston Airport. The same storm produced up to three feet of snow in the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, with 14 inches at Washington D.C., and 15.5 inches at Baltimore MD. The storm resulted in 43 deaths and 500 million dollars damage over the Middle Atlantic Coast States. (David Ludlum) and in 1989, Low pressure off the Washington coast produced more than a foot of snow in the Cascade Mountains, and more than three inches of rain along the Northern Pacific Coast. Spokane WA was blanketed with 13 inches of snow. Cold arctic air in the Upper Midwest produced all-time record high barometric pressure readings of 31.10 inches at Duluth MN, 31.09 inches at Minneapolis MN, and 31.21 inches at Bismarck ND. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
There seems to be a little bit of energy coming up from the GOM that kicks this system into gear. If it phases in time we get a little bit of snow like this mornings GFS shows.