Blizzard, Roscommon
- When
- January 16, 8:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Roscommon forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.336, -84.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Michigan, January 16, 1997
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS DEVELOPED AS MERGING LOWS RAPIDLY INTENSIFIED NORTHEAST OF THE STATE. NORTHWEST WINDS INCREASED TO SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS APX wrote it up.
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS DEVELOPED AS MERGING LOWS RAPIDLY INTENSIFIED NORTHEAST OF THE STATE. AS THE LOW DEEPENED...NORTHWEST WINDS INCREASED TO SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. WIDESPREAD BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW PRODUCED WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. MANY SECONDARY ROADS BECAME IMPASSABLE AT TIMES...RESULTING IN THE CLOSURE OF SOME ROADWAYS. WIND CHILL VALUES DROPPED TO 30 TO 50 DEGREES BELOW ZERO AT TIMES. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTY RANGED FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Ice Storm in Washington, January 16 to 17, 1997
- Strong Wind in New York, January 16, 1997
- Cold in West Virginia, January 16 to 20, 1997
- Winter Weather in Ohio, January 16 to 17, 1997
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, January 16, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 16 to 18, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, January 16, 1997
- Winter Weather in Vermont, January 16, 1997
- Cold in Ohio, January 16 to 20, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 16 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Wisconsin, January 16, 1997
- Blizzard in Wisconsin, January 16, 1997
More
Every storm in Michigan in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, January 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5585995.