Strong Storms & Slight Tornado Risk Across West Michigan Wednesday Evening

The first severe weather outbreak of 2022 in West Michigan could happen during the evening on Wednesday. The National Weather Service has put most areas in the region at the Level 2 “Slight” risk for severe weather.

West Michigan including the potential risk area for severe weather includes Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Eaton, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kent, Muskegon, Ottawa, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties.

Two rounds of storms are forecast to move through Michigan. The first round is not expected to be severe, but there could be some isolated areas that experience storms on the strong side. But the second round, expected during the evening, is the one to cause the biggest concern. A strong cold front is expected to bring fast-moving storms with the potential for damaging winds that could exceed 60 m.p.h., large hail (up to 1" in diameter), and periods of heavy rainfall. There is also a slight risk for tornadoes with this system but is one of the lower risks related to this storm system.

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The National Weather Service says residents in the slight risk area should monitor weather information and have a safe place to be if storms turn severe. Make sure you have a plan in place and consider having emergency supplies on hand should the power go out. It's also a good idea to have an emergency kit in your vehicle too if you are traveling this evening.

Consumers Energy says they have crews on stand-by in West Michigan to respond to any outages caused by these storms. Weather officials say winds could be strong enough to knock some limbs down which could lead to some outages across the region.