Winter Storm Miles turned out to massively underwhelming in West Michigan, but the winds on the back side of it may cause some power outages tonight.

The storm was initially set to bring upwards of eight inches of snow Wednesday into Thursday, but the warm temperatures lingered longer than expected and kept the snow totals to around one or two inches throughout the Grand Rapids metro area.

But the backside of Winter Storm Miles will bring some gusting winds starting late Friday afternoon through Saturday morning. These gusts will hit anywhere from 35-45 mph, which could bring some blowing lake effect snow and some power issues with it.

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory and Hazardous Weather Outlook for most of the area starting Friday afternoon until 10:00am Saturday, and those winds could bring some lake effect snow showers, which will be heavier along the Lakeshore areas of Ottawa and Muskegon Counties.

The strongest winds are expected overnight, when gusts of 45 to 50 mph are expected in inland locations, and up to 55 mph for lakeshore areas north of Whitehall. These winds may result in isolated to scattered power outages.

In addition to strong winds, light accumulating snow is expected for much of the area. Greatest amounts will generally occur north of a line from Muskegon to Big Rapids, where 1-4 inches can be expected. Despite modest accumulations in this area, slippery road conditions are expected. In addition to slippery roads, gusty winds and occasionally heavy snow showers will result in
briefly reduced visibilities.

 

And can we stop with naming Winter Storms with names like Miles?

No offense if your name is Miles, but Winter Storms deserve Nordic names like Helga, Sven, Ulf, Thor or Gertrude. I will keep beating this drum until the NWS listens to me.

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