Michigan, 1998

Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 21 to 22, 1998

December 21 to 22, 1998 · NWS MQT · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Low pressure moving from northern lower Michigan into eastern Ontario and Quebec produced strong northwest winds over upper Michigan that brought bitterly cold air down from Canada. The cold air flowing across the warm waters of Lake Superior set up bands of heavy lake effect snow squalls.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 MQT wrote it up.

Low pressure moving from northern lower Michigan into eastern Ontario and Quebec produced strong northwest winds over upper Michigan that brought bitterly cold air down from Canada. The cold air flowing across the warm waters of Lake Superior set up bands of heavy lake effect snow squalls. Storm totals include 8 inches at Rockland, 10 inches at Pelkie, and 10 inches at Paradise.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Ontonagon

When
December 21, 5:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Ontonagon forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.778, -89.305 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Houghton

When
December 21, 5:00 AM EST to December 22, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Houghton forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.992, -88.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Luce

When
December 21, 5:00 AM EST to December 22, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Luce forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.368, -85.509 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Michigan in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 1998

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5674645, 5674646, 5674647.