These are the 4 counties that were in the Winter Weather Advisory. The G.R. NWS did a good job of nailing the area that got the heavy snow – which was centered over Muskegon County.
As of 3 am Wed., there are 41,114 Consumers Energy customers without power, including 41% of Muskegon County (34,432 customers). Also without power, 3,134 customers in Kent County (NW side of Gr. Rapids mainly between Richmond and John Ball Park), 1,917 customers in Ottawa Co. and 465 in Isabella Co. That number dropped to just 197 in Muskegon Co. Friday morning.
There was at least one lightning strike west of Mt. Pleasant, so we got thundersnow. Fortunately, it didn’t disrupt the CMU football game, which was nationally televised.
Snowfall totals: 3 miles north of Muskegon 11.3, 10″ Cloverville, 9.5″ Ferrysburg, 9.5″ Fruitport”, 9″ Spring Lake, Muskegon Airport 8.8″ (heaviest October snowfall ever and heaviest ever prior to Nov. 14), 6.8″ Grand Haven, 5.5″ Stanwood and 1″ in Comstock Park. One person measured 12″ on his picnic table in N. Muskegon.
The pic. above is downtown Holland and the pic. below is Holland State Park. These pics. were taken at approximately the same time and the locations are just a few miles apart.
This pic. is the Muskegon Channel – 4″ when they were getting moderate to heavy snowfall.
The National Weather Service said:
Total snow accumulations of up to 6
inches. Locally higher amounts possible
* WHERE...Oceana, Newaygo, Muskegon and Ottawa counties.
* WHEN...From 8 AM Tue morning to midnight EDT.
* IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous
conditions could impact the evening commute.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Gusty winds will cause wind chills in the
20s
From the Grand Rapids National Weather Service:
-PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW SHOWERS COUPLED WITH GUSTY WINDS WILL
ALLOW POOR VISIBILITY AND POOR TRAVEL CONDITIONS FOR THE EVENING
COMMUTE AND FOR TRICK-OR-TREATING CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY FOR REGIONS
NORTH OF MUSKEGON.
GOOD CREDENCE TO THE 1" HR SNOWFALL RATES.
LIMITING FACTORS FOR SNOWFALL IS THE DAYTIME TEMPERATURES, THE
WARM GROUND AND POTENTIAL FOR LOW SNOW RATIOS AND THAT THE HEAVY
SNOW WILL COMPACT QUICKLY.
THE SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ACROSS THE LAKE
WILL BRING UPWARDS OF 20 M/BARS THAT WILL FURTHER ENHANCE
INSTABILITY.
THE AREAS OF BIGGEST CONCERN FOR HEAVY SNOWFALL IS OCEANA,
MUSKEGON AND NEWAYGO COUNTIES. THERE WILL BE AN AXIS OF HEAVY SNOW
AND PERIOD BETWEEN 11 AM TO 5 PM WHERE THESE COUNTIES ARE BENEATH
THE LEFT EXIT REGION OF THE INCOMING 500MB JET STREAK. THAT WILL
CREATE STRONG DYNAMICS. COUPLE WITH THIS WITH A GOOD PERIOD IS A
DEEP DGZ AND SNOWFALL COULD REACH UPWARDS OF 6 INCHES WITH SOME
OUTLYING ENSEMBLE MEMBERS SHOWING SLIGHTLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. ANY
SNOW THAT FALLS WILL MELT, THOUGH THE HIGHER SNOWFALL RATES WILL
ALLOW FOR THE HEAVY WET SNOW TO ACCUMULATE, ESPECIALLY ON GRASSY
SURFACES. REGIONS EAST OF US 131 COULD RECEIVE SNOW BUT WILL BE
A DUSTING TO A FEW TENTHS.
WHILE SNOW THIS TIME OF YEAR IS RARE, IT DOES OCCASIONALLY HAPPEN. MEASURABLE SNOW IN GRAND RAPIDS IN OCTOBER HAS HAPPENED 5 TIMES SINCE 2000.
COLD OVERNIGHT LOWS TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY ARE EXPECTED AS
THE SYSTEM MOVES EASTWARD. SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WILL SHIFT SOUTHWARD WITH
LINGERING SNOW EXPECTED IN VAN BUREN COUNTY AS THE SYSTEM MOVES
EASTWARD EARLY WEDNESDAY.
THERE COULD BE SOME LINGERING LIGHT SNOW IN VAN BUREN AND ALLEGAN
COUNTIES WEDNESDAY MORNING, OTHERWISE DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED
THROUGH FRIDAY. TEMPERATURES WARM UP EACH DAY...FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WORKWEEK.
FRIDAY NIGHT WE MOVE MORE INTO AN UNSETTLED PATTERN WITH INCREASING
PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES, AND MULTIPLE SHORTWAVES MOVING THROUGH.
RAIN CHANCES THROUGH THE WEEKEND ARE MORE IN THE 20 TO 30 PERCENT
RANGE, SO NOT EXPECTING ANY DAY THIS WEEKEND TO BE A WASHOUT. AS WE
HEAD INTO NEXT WEEK THOUGH ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE REFLECTS A BIT MORE
CONFIDENCE IN WET WEATHER HENCE THE HIGHER CHANCES MAINLY IN THE 50
TO 60 PERCENT RANGE. THERE ARE STILL SOME DIFFERENCES IN TIMING THAT
FAR OUT, SO WOULD EXPECT SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FORECAST THAT FAR
OUT. HIGHS REMAIN MAINLY IN THE 40S WITH LOWS IN THE 30S."
New snowfall in Upper Michigan: 12.3" Bergland, 10" Chassell, 8" Nisula, 6" at S. Ste. Marie, 4.2" Baraga and Twin Lakes, 4" Big Bay, 3" Calumet and Herman, 2.6" Painesdale, 2.5" Kearsarge, 2.1" Pelkie, 2" Deer Park and Houghton.
3" of new snow at Petoskey and Bliss in N. Lower MI.
Bill adds: Read the next thread here on the blog. I write about the chance of thundersnow today and this evening. We did have at least one flash of lightning with the heavy snow.
