The lake snow is finally easing in western Lower Michigan, having buried sections of the snowbelt there under more than a foot of snow. Reports in to the National Weather Service there indicate as much as 17” of snow fell not far from South Haven, Michigan at Monterey in Allegan County. Nearby Dorr was hit by 13” while Wayland reported 11” and Saugatuck tallied 11”. Farther south, parts of Berrien County have received as much as 5-7” of snow.
Our friend and observer John Gehr from Holland, Mich., has sent us these spectacular (and beautiful) shots of the snow in his area. MANY THANKS , John!
More snow is headed into Chicago Friday night into early Saturday morning—perhaps an inch, perhaps a little more—as milder air overruns the retreating arctic chill which sent temperatures plunging overnight as low as -18.6-degrees west of the city in DeKalb County (thanks to David Lindgren at the University of Illinois experimental farm for that report) as well as -17-degrees at Sugar Grove. Though strong warming and even some rain arrives on howling southerly winds (30+ mph gusts aren’t out of the question) Monday into Monday night, cold air resurges into the region Tuesday and computer models we’re examining, though varied on timing and details, suggest the potential for one or more potentially significant snowfalls next week.
The European Center’s latest model run is hinting at a potentially important system with possible snow over at least sections of the Chicago metro area later Tuesday into Wednesday morning. And the National Weather Service’s global model (the “GFS") continues to indicate—as it has in a number of its recent forecast cycles—another storm, a potential snow-producer---could be headed into the Midwest late next week. These are early trends hardly carved in stone, but the fact they’ve appeared with some regularity over a series of days flags the systems as ones to watch.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
