Winter storm warnings are in effect for parts of the state

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories are in effect for most of northern and western Michigan on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service said Wednesday that a clipper system will “gradually intensify” snow and wind across northern Michigan, with initially light snowfall eventually giving way to some heavier bursts of snow and squalls. This can result in “very different” travel conditions throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

“At some point, the lake effect snow machine will kick in as winds shift more strongly to the northwest overnight,” the NWS office in Gaylord, Michigan, said Wednesday. “As a result, snowbelt areas are likely to see an additional 6 to 10 inches of snow overnight, with some locations possibly seeing as much as 12 or more inches.”

The NWS said lake-effect snow showers are expected to continue across parts of northern Michigan Thursday. While most areas will see less than an inch of snow, areas near and south of Grand Traverse Bay could see an additional 3 to 5 inches of snow Thursday morning and Thursday evening.

“Heavy snow combined with strong winds will result in hazardous travel, including intermittent whiteouts and blowing snow,” the NWS office in Gaylord said Wednesday. The worst conditions are expected with snow squalls late Wednesday afternoon into the evening.

In western Michigan, the NWS office in Grand Rapids issued a winter storm warning from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 1 a.m. Friday for the cities of Grand Rapids, Fremont, Kalamazoo and Muskegon, among others.

Snow forecast map

According to the weather service, heavy and blowing snow is expected across portions of southwest and west-central Michigan, with total snow accumulations between 4 and 10 inches, with locally higher amounts possible, and wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour.

Michigan has already seen more than 3 feet of snow in some places

According to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY network, a weather system dumped more than three feet of snow in some Michigan cities last week.

In the Upper Peninsula, National Weather Service observers in Luce County saw more than 40 inches of snow over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, with snow totals ranging from 2 to 40 inches, according to the National Weather Service in Marquette.

The snow was caused by the so-called lake effect, a phenomenon in which moisture-laden air dumps heavy snow in some places downwind of large bodies of water, while other areas get almost nothing.

Gabe Hauari is a nationally featured news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].

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Winter storm warnings are in effect for parts of the state

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