Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Ludington, MI

December 7, 2023 2:10 PM EST (19:10 UTC)
Sunrise 8:01AM Sunset 5:11PM Moonrise 2:19AM Moonset 2:13PM
LMZ849 Pentwater To Manistee Mi- 1105 Am Est Thu Dec 7 2023
.small craft advisory in effect until 1 pm est this afternoon...
Rest of today..Southwest winds 5 to 15 knots backing south late in the day. Mostly Sunny. Waves 2 to 4 feet subsiding to 1 to 3 feet late in the day.
Tonight..South winds 15 to 25 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 2 to 3 feet building to 3 to 5 feet after midnight.
Friday..South winds to 30 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 4 to 6 feet.
Friday night..South winds 15 to 20 knots. Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain showers. Waves 4 to 6 feet.
Saturday..South winds to 30 knots veering southwest. Rain showers likely. Waves 4 to 6 feet building to 6 to 8 feet.
Sunday..Northwest winds 15 to 20 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
Monday..West winds 15 to 20 knots backing southwest late in the day. Partly Sunny. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
.small craft advisory in effect until 1 pm est this afternoon...
Rest of today..Southwest winds 5 to 15 knots backing south late in the day. Mostly Sunny. Waves 2 to 4 feet subsiding to 1 to 3 feet late in the day.
Tonight..South winds 15 to 25 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 2 to 3 feet building to 3 to 5 feet after midnight.
Friday..South winds to 30 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 4 to 6 feet.
Friday night..South winds 15 to 20 knots. Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain showers. Waves 4 to 6 feet.
Saturday..South winds to 30 knots veering southwest. Rain showers likely. Waves 4 to 6 feet building to 6 to 8 feet.
Sunday..Northwest winds 15 to 20 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
Monday..West winds 15 to 20 knots backing southwest late in the day. Partly Sunny. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
LMZ800
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Area Discussion for - Grand Rapids, MI
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FXUS63 KGRR 071700 AFDGRR
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI Issued by National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI 1200 PM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
LATEST UPDATE...
Aviation
SHORT TERM
(Today through Friday)
Issued at 310 AM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
Rather tranquil wx is forecast through Friday afternoon. Mid to upper level ridging will gradually build in from the west today.
Subsidence under the ridge will result in partial clearing and some sun in conjunction with sw flow waa will help to boost high temps well into the 40's. Min temps tonight will range from the middle 30's to lower 40's as increasing southerly winds will inhibit temps from falling too much overnight.
Strong southerly flow warm air advection continues Friday which in conjunction with partial sunshine will help to boost max temps into the lower to perhaps middle 50's. We will continue to go with a dry fcst through Friday afternoon since we do not see anything to focus shower development until Friday night as deeper moisture moves in.
LONG TERM
(Friday night through Wednesday)
Issued at 310 AM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
A western CONUS longwave trough moves east in a progressive flow regime during the extended period. There is a long fetch of southerly flow with Gulf moisture streaming north ahead of the trough axis. However, the timing of northern and southern stream phasing and the resulting track of the surface low ejecting northeast from the Southern Plains should limit QPF to around a quarter inch across the northwest zones and less than a tenth of an inch across much of the central and eastern forecast area on Friday night and Saturday. This is due to low center remaining off to the west with a quick dry slotting of Lower Michigan while the bulk of heavy rains associated with the warm conveyor belt miss to the south.
Colder air, with 850 mb temps to minus 10C follow for Sunday into Monday. Inversion heights are around 5 kft, which will limit lake effect snow showers.
AVIATION
(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Friday afternoon)
Issued at 1200 PM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
Enhanced MVFR cloud plume emerged from GRR west to the lake shore this morning. Clouds are tied to some enhanced lake augmentation to the surface layer moisture. Expectations are for this cloud field to persist for a couple more hours until entrainment can thin and scatter it. Otherwise, modest southwest flow will hold on this afternoon. Winds will quickly back to south/southeasterly after sunset as the surface warm front encroaches overnight.
Friday will be characterized by some gusty south/southwest flow coupled with increasing boundary layer moisture. Additional lake boost is anticipated to establish a ceiling at GRR and MKG during the morning - with scattered clouds elsewhere.
MARINE
Issued at 310 AM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
A small craft advisory remains in effect until early this afternoon as wave heights will remain up around 3-5 feet before subsiding a bit later this afternoon. However southerly winds will begin to ramp back up again tonight and more so for Friday. As such a new small craft advisory will likely be needed for this time frame.
GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
MI...None.
LM...Small Craft Advisory until 1 PM EST this afternoon for LMZ844>849.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI Issued by National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI 1200 PM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
LATEST UPDATE...
Aviation
SHORT TERM
(Today through Friday)
Issued at 310 AM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
Rather tranquil wx is forecast through Friday afternoon. Mid to upper level ridging will gradually build in from the west today.
Subsidence under the ridge will result in partial clearing and some sun in conjunction with sw flow waa will help to boost high temps well into the 40's. Min temps tonight will range from the middle 30's to lower 40's as increasing southerly winds will inhibit temps from falling too much overnight.
Strong southerly flow warm air advection continues Friday which in conjunction with partial sunshine will help to boost max temps into the lower to perhaps middle 50's. We will continue to go with a dry fcst through Friday afternoon since we do not see anything to focus shower development until Friday night as deeper moisture moves in.
LONG TERM
(Friday night through Wednesday)
Issued at 310 AM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
A western CONUS longwave trough moves east in a progressive flow regime during the extended period. There is a long fetch of southerly flow with Gulf moisture streaming north ahead of the trough axis. However, the timing of northern and southern stream phasing and the resulting track of the surface low ejecting northeast from the Southern Plains should limit QPF to around a quarter inch across the northwest zones and less than a tenth of an inch across much of the central and eastern forecast area on Friday night and Saturday. This is due to low center remaining off to the west with a quick dry slotting of Lower Michigan while the bulk of heavy rains associated with the warm conveyor belt miss to the south.
Colder air, with 850 mb temps to minus 10C follow for Sunday into Monday. Inversion heights are around 5 kft, which will limit lake effect snow showers.
AVIATION
(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Friday afternoon)
Issued at 1200 PM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
Enhanced MVFR cloud plume emerged from GRR west to the lake shore this morning. Clouds are tied to some enhanced lake augmentation to the surface layer moisture. Expectations are for this cloud field to persist for a couple more hours until entrainment can thin and scatter it. Otherwise, modest southwest flow will hold on this afternoon. Winds will quickly back to south/southeasterly after sunset as the surface warm front encroaches overnight.
Friday will be characterized by some gusty south/southwest flow coupled with increasing boundary layer moisture. Additional lake boost is anticipated to establish a ceiling at GRR and MKG during the morning - with scattered clouds elsewhere.
MARINE
Issued at 310 AM EST Thu Dec 7 2023
A small craft advisory remains in effect until early this afternoon as wave heights will remain up around 3-5 feet before subsiding a bit later this afternoon. However southerly winds will begin to ramp back up again tonight and more so for Friday. As such a new small craft advisory will likely be needed for this time frame.
GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
MI...None.
LM...Small Craft Advisory until 1 PM EST this afternoon for LMZ844>849.
Stations | Dist | Age | Wind | Air Temp | Water Temp | Waves | inHg | DewPt |
LDTM4 - 9087023 - Ludington, MI | 1 mi | 58 min | SSW 2.9G | 42°F | 34°F | |||
BSBM4 - Big Sable Point, MI | 8 mi | 90 min | S 5.1G | 45°F | 29.85 | |||
MEEM4 - Manistee Harbor, MI | 21 mi | 90 min | SW 2.9G | 42°F |
toggle option: (graph/table)
Airport Reports
EDIT (on/off)  Help Click EDIT to display multiple airports. Follow links for more data.Airport | Dist | Age | Wind kt | Vis | Sky | Weather | Temp | DewPt | RH | inHg |
KLDM MASON COUNTY,MI | 2 sm | 15 min | WSW 04 | 10 sm | Overcast | 45°F | 36°F | 70% | 29.81 | |
KMBL MANISTEE COBLACKER,MI | 24 sm | 14 min | S 05 | 10 sm | Overcast | 46°F | 36°F | 66% | 29.80 |
Wind History from LDM
(wind in knots)Grand Rapids/Muskegon, MI,

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