Heavy Snow, Muskegon
- When
- December 20, 7:00 PM EST to December 21, 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Muskegon forecast zone
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 43.219, -86.212 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 20 to 21, 2000
A combination of an Alberta clipper moving across northern lower Michigan and cold air moving in behind it produced heavy snow and lake effect snow. The heaviest snow fell across Oceana, Mason and Muskegon counties, where many locations received 6 to 10 inches of snow.
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 GRR wrote it up.
A combination of an Alberta clipper moving across northern lower Michigan and cold air moving in behind it produced heavy snow and lake effect snow. The heaviest snow fell across Oceana, Mason and Muskegon counties, where many locations received 6 to 10 inches of snow. The most snow, 12 inches, fell in Montague (Muskegon county).The following is a list of snowfall totals, by county, between 7 p.m. the 20th and 11 a.m. the 21st: Oceana, Mason, and Muskegon, 8 to 10 inches; Ottawa, 3 to 6 inches; Lake and Newaygo, 3 to 5 inches; Allegan and Clare, 2 to 5 inches; Osceola, Isabella, Montcalm and Ionia, 3 to 4 inches. Van Buren and Mecosta, 2 to 4 inches. Gratiot, Kent, Clinton and Kalamazoo, 2 to 3 inches. Barry, Eaton, Jackson, Calhoun, 2 inches; Ingham, 1 to 2 inches.
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, Oceana
- When
- December 20, 7:00 PM EST to December 21, 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Oceana forecast zone
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 43.682, -86.317 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Mason
- When
- December 20, 7:00 PM EST to December 21, 11:00 AM EST
- Where
- Mason forecast zone
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 43.956, -86.423 (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
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, December 20, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 20, 2000
- Blizzard in North Dakota, December 20, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 20, 2000
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, December 20 to 21, 2000
- Winter Storm in Mississippi, December 20 to 21, 2000
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, December 20, 2000
- Blizzard in Minnesota, December 20, 2000
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 20 to 27, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Maine, December 20, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 20 to 22, 2000
- Winter Storm in Maine, December 20, 2000
More
Every storm in Michigan in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 2000
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: 5168696, 5168697, 5168698.