Heavy Snow, Ontonagon
- When
- December 19, 2:00 PM EST to December 24, 8:00 AM 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 in Michigan, December 19 to 24, 1999
A strong low pressure system passed north of Lake Superior. Strong north winds behind the associated cold front produced bands of lake effect snow along the south shore of Lake Superior.
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
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.
A strong low pressure system passed north of Lake Superior. Strong north winds behind the associated cold front produced bands of lake effect snow along the south shore of Lake Superior. The heaviest accumulations were over the Keweenaw Peninsula and along the lake in Ontonagon County. Snowfall totals from cooperative observers were 27 inches in Houghton, 28.8 inches near Ontonagon, and 18 inches in Phoenix. Snowfall rates of more than an inch an hour were reported during the height of the storm.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Houghton
- When
- December 19, 2:00 PM EST to December 24, 8:00 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, Keweenaw
- When
- December 19, 2:00 PM EST to December 24, 8:00 AM EST
- Where
- Keweenaw forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.283, -88.212 (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
- Winter Storm in Iowa, December 19 to 20, 1999
- Winter Storm in Illinois, December 19 to 20, 1999
- Blizzard in North Dakota, December 19, 1999
- Dense Fog in Louisiana, December 19, 1999
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 19 to 20, 1999
- Blizzard in North Dakota, December 19, 1999
- High Wind in California, December 19 to 20, 1999
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 19 to 21, 1999
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 19, 1999
- Blizzard in Wyoming, December 19, 1999
- Heat in California, December 19 to 22, 1999
- Winter Storm in Missouri, December 19 to 20, 1999
More
Every storm in Michigan in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 1999
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: 5724723, 5724724, 5724725.