The Punxsutawney Phil Show Will Go On

Punxsutawney Phil won't see his shadow tomorrow.   Seven inches are forecast for the community Phil lives in.    Despite the massive winter storm that's taking aim at West Michigan and much of the country, Phil's handlers say "the show will go on" 

The National Weather Service is calling for as much as seven inches of snow in Punxsutawney, followed by a possible mix of sleet and freezing rain overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning when Phil "forecasts" either an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

Greta, the Gratten Goundhog, has already canceled all personal appearances due to the Blizzard.  The storm is set to impact our area starting at 7pm tonight.  The National Weather Service has issued a  BLIZZARD WARNING from 5PM Tuesday thru 7PM Wednesday.

Here's the blizzard warning and forecast for Grand Rapids from the National Weather Service. Check the latest update.

BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 PM
EST WEDNESDAY. IMPACTS...

* TRAVEL AND COMMERCE ACROSS THE WARNING AREA ARE EXPECTED TO BE
SEVERELY IMPACTED BY HEAVY SNOW AND SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND
DRIFTING SNOW LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

* HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL MAKE CLEARING OF
ROADS DIFFICULT TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. CONDITIONS WILL
IMPROVE LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING AS THE
SNOW DIMINISHES AND WINDS DIE DOWN.

* NUMEROUS EVENT CANCELLATIONS INCLUDING SCHOOL CLOSURES ARE EXPECTED, AS WELL AS FLIGHT DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS.

* THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL BETWEEN LATE TUESDAY EVENING AND
DAYBREAK WEDNESDAY MORNING. ONE TO TWO INCH PER HOUR SNOW RATES
CAN BE EXPECTED DURING THIS TIME.

* STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 14 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED
FROM LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON TO WEDNESDAY EVENING.

* NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE INTO THE 15 TO 30 MPH
RANGE WITH HIGHER GUSTS TO 40 MPH TUESDAY EVENING. THESE WINDS
WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING BEFORE GRADUALLY
DIMINISHING. CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS
EXPECTED...PRODUCING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AND VISIBILITIES DOWN
TO NEAR ZERO.

* A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG
WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO
WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT
TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH
YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

A winter storm sweeping through the U.S. grounded more than 4,000 flights while threatening to break snowfall records in Chicago, coat New York City in ice and add to Boston’s heaviest accumulations in years.