Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 11 to 12, 2000

...Synoptic and mesoscale conditions on December 11th...An unseasonably cold arctic airmass spilling southward out of southern Canada on the 10th combined with a very strong upper level disturbance and upper level jet of 160 knots came together over the Midwest early on the 11th. Surface low pressure developed over Oklahoma early on the 11th and rapidly deepened as it lifted northeastward into central Indiana by late afternoon. Heavy snow developed quickly during the morning and mixed with some sleet at times due to the tremendous warm air advection out ahead of the intensifing system. Heavy snow continued into the early morning hours of the 12th with thunder snow reported at several locations in northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan within the mid level deformation zone of the upper low. As the surface low continued to intensify and pull out into Ohio during the night of the 11th...strong gradient winds developed creating near blizzard conditions over northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan and caused some damage to trees and power lines over northwest Ohio with wind gusts of 59 mph reported in Putnam Ohio and 56 mph in Lima Ohio. Some notable storm total snowfall reports included 16 inches in Cassopolis... 14 in Elkhart... 13.5 in Goshen... 12 in Niles, St. Joseph, Salem Center, and the South Bend airport... and 10 inches in Berrien Springs, Westville, Middlebury, Mishawaka, Union, and White Pigeon.