Issued at: 5:54pm EST 01/16/2024
Scattered to widespread school closures are possible in the same areas of southern and western lower Michigan that have seen school closures for the past several school days.
We are leading this risk with a broad area of "EXTREME" (purple-shaded areas) and "High: (pink-shaded areas) risks in place across the southern portions of our coverage area generally south/southeast of a Saint Joseph to Saginaw line.
While we have introduced a small area of EXTREME and High Risks in central Ottawa County around Allendale Schools (as they have closed already and we expect nearby districts may do the same), the only thing precluding more widespread "High" (pink-shaded areas) or "Significant" risks (red-shaded areas) along the lakeshore and north/northeast of Grand Rapids, is the trends of these school districts on both Monday and Tuesday. Many schools in these areas remained open that past couple of days despite the wind chill and icy road threats. In light of this tendency, we have opted to only introduce "Elevated" (orange-shaded areas) and "Minuscule" (yellow-shaded areas) for most of the north/northeastern portions of our coverage area.
Primary hazards for the southern portions of our coverage area are wind chills ranging from -10 to -25 degrees. Other areas will see wind chills into the negative single and double digits but the icy/snow-packed road surfaces and additional lake effect snow showers expected to bring an additional 1-3 inches of accumulation is the primary concern.
We will also be issuing a School Closing Outlook for Thursday 01/18/2024 later this evening. Make sure you're signed up for email alerts at https://www.westmichiganweather.net/school-closings
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