Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 5 to 6, 1999

Name: Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 5 to 6, 1999
Start: 1999-03-05T18:00
End: 1999-03-06T08:00
Location: Michigan

March 5 to 6, 1999 · NWS DTX · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

A warm front moved north into central Ohio and Indiana on the 5th, then stalled. Low pressure moved east along the front, crossing Indiana and Ohio on the morning of the 6th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 14 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: 14

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 DTX wrote it up.

A warm front moved north into central Ohio and Indiana on the 5th, then stalled. Low pressure moved east along the front, crossing Indiana and Ohio on the morning of the 6th. Moisture surged northward ahead of the low, and precipitation developed north of the warm front, mainly in the form of snow. The snow was heavy across much of southeast Michigan. In addition, wind gusts to 35 mph caused considerable blowing and drifting, along with wind chills as low as fifteen below zero.Some snowfall amounts by county: Genesee: 9.1" in Flint; 7" in Fenton; 6" in Davison. Huron: 7" in Sebewaing. Lapeer: 9" near Lapeer; 7" in Dryden. Lenawee: 7" in Britton; 6.5" in Hudson and Tecumseh; 6" in Adrian. Livingston: 10" in Brighton. Macomb: 8.4" in Mt Clemens; 8" in New Baltimore. Monroe: 8" in Monroe and Dundee; 6" in Milan. Oakland: 11" in Farmington Hills; 10" in Walled Lake and Troy; 8" in West Bloomfield and Holly. Saginaw: 6" in Saginaw. Sanilac: 7" in Marlette; 6" in Sandusky. St Clair: 8" in Port Huron; 7.6" in Avoca; 6.9" in Ruby. Shiawassee: 8" in Byron; 7" in Owosso and Corunna. Washtenaw: 8" in Saline and Ann Arbor; 7" in Ypsilanti. Wayne: 8" in Detroit; 7.5" in Canton; 6.5" in Dearborn.The combination of snow and blowing snow cancelled 90 flights at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and a snow emergency was declared in the city of Detroit. Roads across the region remained quite slick through the 6th due to blowing snow.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Saginaw

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Saginaw forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.335, -84.053 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Shiawassee

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Shiawassee forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.954, -84.147 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Genesee

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Genesee forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.022, -83.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lapeer

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Lapeer forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.090, -83.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, St. Clair

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: St. Clair forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.931, -82.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Livingston

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Livingston forecast zone
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 42.603, -83.911 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Oakland

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Oakland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.660, -83.386 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Macomb

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Macomb forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.673, -82.910 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Washtenaw

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Washtenaw forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.253, -83.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wayne

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 42.285, -83.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lenawee

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Lenawee forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.895, -84.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When: March 5, 6:00 PM EST to March 6, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.921, -83.494 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Huron

When: March 5, 8:00 PM EST to March 6, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Huron forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.910, -82.855 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tuscola

When: March 5, 8:00 PM EST to March 6, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Tuscola forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.491, -83.440 (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

Every storm in Michigan in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Michigan, March 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: 5689494, 5689497, 5689498, 5689499, 5689500, 5689501, 5689502, 5689503, 5689504, 5689505, 5689506, 5689507, 5689495, 5689496.