National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Above Average Temperatures for the West and Central Plains; Lake Effect Snow Continues

Well above average temperatures will prevail across the Plains and the West Coast this week, while a cold front will bring Arctic air to the South and East Coast Thursday and Friday. Lake effect snow is forecast downwind of the Great Lakes through Thursday along and behind the Arctic front, as well as mountain snow across the Southern Appalachians. Read More >

We appreciate your interest in becoming a trained weather spotter.  Coordination of weather spotters and community volunteer groups is performed by individual counties.  We suggest that you contact your county emergency management office for more information on how to become involved with any volunteer groups in your area.

The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Grand Rapids is responsible for the Skywarn program in the following Michigan counties:

  • Allegan
  • Barry
  • Calhoun
  • Clare
  • Clinton
  • Eaton
  • Gratiot
  • Ingham
  • Ionia
  • Isabella
  • Jackson
  • Kalamazoo
  • Kent
  • Lake
  • Mason
  • Mecosta
  • Montcalm
  • Muskegon
  • Newaygo
  • Oceana
  • Osceola
  • Ottawa
  • Van Buren

Weather Spotter Training Information

Our in-person spotter training classes are conducted around lower Michigan from late February through April each year.  Please keep an eye on the following web pages https://www.weather.gov/grandrapids and https://www.weather.gov/grr/spottertraining after the first of the year for the course schedule.  In the meantime, the link below will take you to a free online course that will introduce you to the basics of weather spotting.