Supporters - School Closing Outlook & "First Call" Snowfall Forecast for Monday 01/05/2026
- Jonah Drake (Owner & Co-Founder)
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Day 2 School Closing Outlook
Forecast Valid: Monday, January 05, 2025
Forecast Issued: Saturday, January 03, 2025, 9:57 PM EST
Forecaster: Jonah Drake
Special Note:
Beginning this year, School Closing Outlooks at West Michigan Weather will begin to account for/forecast for the risk of severe weather.
Severe weather is defined as any thunderstorm wind gust over 58 MPH, any hailstone over 1" in diameter, or tornadoes.
In past years, we have not considered these threats as something that has the potential to result in school closings or delays, and for the most part, even on days that do have a severe weather risk, that will remain the case.
However, given some of the higher-profile/higher-threat events of recent years, (April 5th, 2023, February 27th, 2024, May 7th, 2024, March 30th, 2025, and May 15th, 2025), we do believe that in some rare cases, especially if the event is well-forecasted by the NWS, that some risk for early dismisals, or even school closings, is possible when severe weather threatens.
The risk assessment for severe weather regarding our School Closing Outlooks will consider the NWS Storm Prediction Center Severe Weather Outlooks, any Tornado or Severe Thunderstorm Watches issued by the NWS, and any power outages that may exist in the days following a substantial severe weather event.
Also, we have gotten a lot of questions from all of you about our School Closing Outlooks and how we create them. If you'd appreciate a video of how we make these forecasts, or even having them done live sometimes, please vote in this poll.
Would You Like A Tutorial Video Or Having The Creation of These Forecasts Live Streamed?
Yes, please, I am curious!
No, but I appreciate these forecasts!
Thanks,
Jonah
Co-Founder of West Michigan Weather
Summary:
A clipper system is forecast to bring accumulating snow to parts of our area from Sunday night into early Monday morning. This may result in at least a couple of isolated school closings or delays on Monday.
West Michigan Weather spends a lot of time making these School Closing Outlooks. It is our goal to make all of our pertinent forecasts available to everyone. However, because this is a “Day 2 Outlook” or a "Day 3 Outlook," and not a "Day 1 Outlook," and we consider this a premium benefit for those who do support us, we do ask that you help support us by donating to our organization if you are able!
Those donations go directly back into our operations here and help pay for fuel for storm chases, weather software, and the many premium plans we pay for to help get the latest and most accurate information out to all of you!
Plans start as low as $0.99/month! (Just 3 cents per day!) If you can’t support us by donating, no worries!
An updated version of this Outlook will be available in the Day 1 School Closing Outlook, which will be available to everyone tomorrow evening!
Donate Using The Button Below Or Revisit This Page At 7:00 PM Tomorrow To Read The Full Post.
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