FOX 17 Chief Meteorologist Kevin Craig’s forecast: A WINTER STORM WARNING has been issued for Allegan, Ottawa, Muskegon and Oceana counties until Thursday at 7 p.m. The heaviest snow falls in these locations. A winter weather advisory for all other counties in West Michigan, except Mecosta, Montcalm and Branch counties. Lower amounts apply here. Click here to learn more about this week’s lake effect snow and cold. Tonight on Thursday a blast of arctic air will fall from Canada. High temperatures on Thursday are unlikely to exceed the teens in most locations, producing areas of lake effect snow showers and widespread snow. Wind chills will be below zero on Wednesday evening, but will only be in the single digits on Thursday. The heaviest snow (about 4 to 8 inches) will fall along/west of US 131. Some locations north/west of Grand Rapids may see isolated amounts of snow near 12 inches! This cold blast won’t last long as temperatures climb back into the upper 30s to lower 40s for the weekend. Longer-term forecast models show we could get back into the 40s by mid-December. Click here to read more about the mild mid-to-late December pattern and the latest forecast updates!

TODAY: Cloudy, windy and cooler, lake effect snow developing. Heaviest along/west of US 131. Highs will be in the low 30s early and then gradually fall in the afternoon. West wind 10 to 20 mph.

TONIGHT: Cloudy, windy and noticeably colder as arctic air moves in. Lake effect snow likely. Heaviest along/west of US 131. Lows in the teens. West wind 15 to 25 mph. Gusts up to 40/45 on the lakeshore. Wind chill 0 to -10.

THURSDAY: Arctic air will appear briefly with a likely snow effect. Most severe along/west of US 131. Highs in the upper teens to near 20, with wind chills in the single digits above and below zero. West wind 10 to 20 mph. Gusts to 30. Wind chill -5 to +5.

FRIDAY: Partly cloudy to partly sunny and warmer with a chance of snow showers or severe weather. Highs in the mid/upper 20s.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy with afternoon and overnight rain/snow showers. Highs will be in the mid/upper 30s

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy and a little warmer with a chance of showers. Highs in the low 40s.

For the latest weather information in West Michigan, visit the FOX 17 weather page.

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