Winter storms continued Thursday across Southwest Michigan, bringing more school closures and dangerous road conditions to a week already filled with weather-related complications.
Most Southwest Michigan school districts were closed Thursday, and higher education institutions like Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo Valley Community College have closed their campuses due to severe weather. Many of the same schools, including WMU, were also closed Tuesday for severe weather and some districts have already announced Friday closures.
According to the National Weather Forecast, a winter weather advisory is in effect until 7 p.m. ET on Thursday for Allegan, Barry, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Mason, Lake, Oceana, Newaygo, Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties. However, the NWS 10-day forecast for Kalamazoo county predicts snow is likely to continue into next week.
Dangerous conditions like bitter wind chill, freezing rain and extreme low temperatures are expected through the weekend as a cold front moves across the United States.
An alert from the NWS forecasts continued lake effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes through Friday, along with "dangerously cold arctic air" causing extreme wind chill across the entire country. Extreme cold warnings are in effect through Saturday, Jan. 24 for much of the region.
In Kalamazoo County, several winter warming centers are available during the day and overnight. A list of all centers is available on the Kalamazoo County website.
