Two winter systems are coming together across the northern U.S. this week, bringing the potential for heavy snow and strong winds across the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest.

FOX 17 is issuing a WEATHER READY ALERT as West Michigan faces Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories for 7 inches of snow and strong winds on Wednesday.

Strong wind gusts and heavy snow are possible in some parts of Michigan this week, prompting weather alerts for several areas of the state.

Michigan is in for a windy, rainy and snowy week, with weather officials expecting almost 2 feet of snow in some UP spots.

Some areas of the state could see nearly 3 feet of snow with this winter storm. But it's the high wind gusts blowing all that snow around that are going to cause a problem on our roads.

DETROIT – New long-range models are giving us an early look at Michigan’s winter weather for January through March. Southeast Michigan is headed for a classic Midwestern winter, according to those new long-range outlooks from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.

The National Weather Service issues a variety of weather warnings and advisories. Here's what they mean in Michigan.

Join us each day on our MLive weather page between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. weekdays when we do our live forecast. Want to see it later? You can catch up on the forecast by watching our video.