Monthly Archives: January 2020

A WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 AM EST SUNDAY. Heavy mixed precipitation expected beginning later this afternoon and particularly tonight. Total snow accumulations of up to 3 inches and ice accumulations of one tenth to three tenths of an inch. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph. The Winter Storm Warning is in effect for Jackson, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, and Calhoun counties. The timeframe for the warning has been pushed back:   1 PM this afternoon to 7 AM EST Sunday. The National Weather Service says to expect power outages and tree damage due to the ice.  Travel will be difficult to potentially impossible due to icing on roadways. A Flood Advisory is now in effect for Jackson County. Throughout this morning, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated heavy rain which will cause minor flooding. Overflowing poor  drainage areas will result in minor flooding in the advisory area. Over an inch of rain has already fallen in a band from Paw Paw and Kalamazoo to Hastings and those heavier amounts were moving east.  Additional amounts up to one inch are expected. The National Weather Service says this morning that while freezing rain…

Jackson College President Daniel J. Phelan has been elected to the American Council on Education’s board of directors.  The American Council on Education (ACE) helps shape public policy and helps more students gain a quality education. ACE represents all types of accredited, degree-granting institutions in the U.S.: two-year and four-year, public and private, colleges and universities, with 1,700 members. It has advocated for legislation and undertaken initiatives to improve higher education for all over the past century.  “I appreciate the opportunity to serve on our nation’s largest, most-respected higher education board. I am deeply humbled,” Phelan said. “Given the changing ecosystem of our industry, it’s more important than ever to be connected with other thought leaders and colleagues to work toward better public policy, continuous improvement, as well as innovative practice.” Phelan has been president/chief executive officer of Jackson College since 2001. Among his numerous involvements, he served as a negotiator in 2019 on the Accreditation and Innovation Committee, part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Negotiated Rule Making process in Washington, D.C. Most recently, he and Jackson College were selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the League for Innovation in the Community College. He is the past…

The National Weather Service  has issued a FLOOD WARNING for the Grand River at Jackson affecting Jackson County from Monday morning until further notice.  A FLOOD WATCH remains in effect from tonight through Saturday night. The WINTER STORM WARNING has been extended; going into effect at 7 AM Saturday through 10 AM Sunday. Heavy mixed precipitation expected. Total sleet accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of one quarter to three quarters of an inch are expected. Northeast winds may gust as high as 35 mph.  This Winter Storm Warning is issued for Jackson, Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties. At 10:30 AM Friday the Grand River stage was 10.9 feet.  Flood stage is 14.0 feet.  Moderate flooding is forecast. The National Weather Service predicts the river will rise above flood stage by Monday morning and continue to rise to near 15.4 feet by Wednesday early afternoon. It is possible a new record crest could be reached by the middle of next week. At 15.0 feet, expect moderate flooding of buildings along High Street, Lewis Street, and Losey Street. High water would disrupt traffic and damage residences. This crest compares to the all-time record crest of 15.4 feet…