Winter Storm in Michigan, December 23 to 25, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Michigan, December 23 to 25, 2001
Start: 2001-12-23T15:00
End: 2001-12-25T07:00
Location: Michigan

December 23 to 25, 2001 · NWS GRR · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands set up during the late afternoon hours of the 23rd. The snow continued through the early morning hours of the 25th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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: 11

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.

Moderate to heavy lake effect snow bands set up during the late afternoon hours of the 23rd. The snow continued through the early morning hours of the 25th. Anywhere from 6 inches to well over a foot of snow fell across the area. The heaviest snowfall totals were received from Grandville (Kent county), where 17.7 inches of snow fell, and from Bloomington (Van Buren county), where 17 inches of snow fell.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Rapids, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 23, 10:05 AM EST, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 10:05 AM EST, 4 hours 55 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
1005 AM EST SUN DEC 23 2001

WE WILL ISSUE A QUICK UPDATE TO THE ZONES TO TAKE MENTION OF RAIN
SHOWERS OUT OF THE FORECAST FOR OUR EASTERN CWA THIS MORNING. 15Z
OBS SHOW TEMPS HAVE DROPPED INTO THE UPPER 20S ACROSS OUR WESTERN
CWA TO THE LOWER 30S EAST. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO FALL
GRADUALLY THIS AFTERNOON AND OUR GOING TEMP FORECAST IS RIGHT
ON TARGET. AS FOR LAKE EFFECT SNOW... RADAR SHOWS A FEW FLURRIES
ALREADY BEGINNING TO DEVELOP ACROSS PORTIONS OF ALLEGAN AND OTTAWA
COUNTIES. SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS OUR WESTERN CWA EARLY
THIS AFTERNOON AND ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS OUR EASTERN CWA BY MID TO
LATE AFTERNOON. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF AROUND AN INCH ARE
POSSIBLE BY SUNSET FOR THE COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE LAKE EFFECT SNOW
WARNING. HOWEVER... THE SNOW WILL NOT REALLY PICK UP IN COVERAGE AND
INTENSITY UNTIL THIS EVENING AS DELTA T/S INCREASE AND WE BEGIN TO
SATURATE THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE. OVERALL... OUR GOING
FORECAST HAS A VERY GOOD HANDLE ON THINGS.

LAURENS

.GRR...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT TONIGHT AND MONDAY
FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: VAN BUREN... ALLEGAN... BARRY...
OTTAWA...KENT... MUSKEGON... OCEANA... NEWAYGO... MASON AND LAKE.

WINTER STORM WATCH FOR KALAMAZOO COUNTY MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Mason

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 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)

Winter Storm, Lake

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Lake forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 43.990, -85.802 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Oceana

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 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)

Winter Storm, Newaygo

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Newaygo forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 43.554, -85.801 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Muskegon

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 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)

Winter Storm, Ottawa

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Ottawa forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 43.003, -86.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kent

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Kent forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 43.032, -85.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Allegan

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Allegan forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 42.518, -85.910 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Barry

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Barry forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 42.595, -85.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Van Buren

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Van Buren forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 42.285, -86.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kalamazoo

When: December 23, 3:00 PM EST to December 25, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Kalamazoo forecast zone
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 42.245, -85.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Michigan in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Michigan, December 2001

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: 5274405, 5274406, 5274407, 5274408, 5274409, 5274410, 5274740, 5274741, 5274742, 5274743, 5274744.