Winter Storm, Muskegon
- When
- December 25, 7:00 PM EST to December 27, 4:00 PM 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 in Michigan, December 25 to 27, 2001
Moderate to heavy lake effect snow redeveloped during the evening hours of the 25th and continued through the afternoon hours of the 27th. At least eight inches of snow fell across the area and many locations across Ottawa, Kent, Allegan, Barry, and Van Buren counties received well in excess of a foot.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
- 6
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 redeveloped during the evening hours of the 25th and continued through the afternoon hours of the 27th. At least eight inches of snow fell across the area and many locations across Ottawa, Kent, Allegan, Barry, and Van Buren counties received well in excess of a foot. The highest snowfall totals were reported in Grandville (Kent county) where 26" of snow fell, and in Allegan (Allegan county), where 25.2 inches of snow fell. This snow added to significant snow that had already fallen since the 23rd. Up to 15 inches of snow fell in Grandville in less than 24 hours and around 24 to 25 inches of snow fell in a band from Grandville southwest to Allegan.
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 25, 3:35 PM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 25, 3:35 PM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 335 PM EST TUE DEC 25 2001 MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM IN THE NEAR TERM CONTINUES TO BE PINNING DOWN DETAILS OF LES EACH PERIOD. LAPS MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOWING SOME DRYING AND DIRECTIONAL SHEAR IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER TODAY AS LES HAS HAD DIFFICULT TIME GETTING ORGANIZED. FOR TONIGHT...MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW IMPROVING CONDITIONS FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF LES AS MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVES THROUGH. MSAS SFC PRESSURE SHOWS A SFC REFLECTION OF THIS TROUGH AND THE VIS SAT LOOP SHOWS WHAT APPEARS TO BE MID-LEVEL VORT MAX MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS ATTM. IN FACT...THIS FEATURE IS CURRENTLY PRODUCING LIGHT SNOW IN THAT AREA. FORECAST REASONING IS THAT THE TROUGH PASSAGE WILL SEE INVERSION HEIGHTS RISING CONSIDERABLY OVERNIGHT...AS WELL AS LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ZONE FORMING AND INTENSIFYING IN SW FLOW AHEAD OF THE TROUGH AXIS THIS EVENING INTO THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD. MESO-ETA SHOWS BEST SFC CONVERGENCE WILL BE FROM ALLEGAN/OTTAWA COUNTIES AND INTO KENT AND MUSKEGON COUNTIES. WILL GO WITH A LES WARNING IN THIS AREA AND BUFFER THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES WITH A LES ADVISORY. LOW TEMPS WILL BE TRICKY AS WELL...AS SW FLOW WILL BRING COLDER AIR TO SOUTHERN INTERIOR ZONES. WILL GO 10 TO 15 IN THAT AREA...15 TO 20 NORTHERN INTERIOR...AND NEAR 20 FOR THE COASTAL ZONES. SOUNDINGS STILL SHOWING DEEP MOISTURE AND INVERSION HEIGHTS AROUND 7-8 KFT RIGHT THROUGH WED EVENING. WILL KEEP THE WARNINGS/ADV GOING THROUGH WED AFTERNOON...ALTHOUGH FLOW APPEARS TO VEER MORE TO THE NW DURING WED AFTERNOON. WILL LET LATER SHIFTS TWEAK THE WARNING/ADV FOR THE DAY ON WED. AXIS OF MID LEVEL THERMAL TROUGH PASSES THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND INVERSION HEIGHTS LOWER A BIT WEDNESDAY NIGHT...BUT BUT DEEP MOISTURE IS IN PLACE AS WELL AS STRONG LOW LEVEL CAA AND CYCLONIC FLOW...SO WILL KEEP CAT POPS FOR THE WESTERN HALF OF THE CWA...LIKELY EASTERN HALF. WILL CONTINUE THIS TREND RIGHT THURSDAY NIGHT...AS SYNOPTIC SITUATION REMAINS FAVORABLE FOR CONTINUATION OF LES. WILL ALSO CONTINUE WITH TEMPS IN THE INERIOR ZONES SEVERAL DEGREES COLDER THAN COASTAL ZONES. OSTUNO EXTENDED FORECAST UPPER LEVEL LOW CURRENTLY OVER THE THE GREAT LAKES REGION BEGINS TO REDEVELOP TO THE NORTHEAST BY THE WEEKEND. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT WITH THIS FOR SEVERAL RUNS NOW AND SUPPORT THIS TRANSITION. EVEN AS THE UPPER LOW REFORMS LOWER MICHIGAN WILL REMAIN UNDER A MOIST WEST/NORTHWEST FLOW. FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND LOW LEVEL WEST/NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE WITH A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES ROTATING AROUND UPPER LEVEL LOW. DECENT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE REMAINS TRAPPED BENEATH UPPER LOW AND WITH SHORTWAVES REINFORCING LOW LEVEL COLD AIR ACROSS THE REGION IT LOOKS LIKE LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE OPERATIONAL MRF IS FINALLY HINTING AT A LET UP IN THE PRECIPITATION EARLY NEXT WEEK AS A CANADIAN HIGH DROPS INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS BRINGING DRIER AIR TO THE GREAT LAKES REGION. AS THIS HIGH DROPS S THROUGH THE PLAINS MRF INDICATES WEAK WARM ADVECTION WILL BEGIN IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION DIMINISHING LAKE EFFECT THREAT. HOWEVER... LITTLE CONFIDENCE IN TIMING/DETAILS THIS FAR OUT AND ENSEMBLES DIFFER QUITE A BIT ON TIMING SO WILL CONTINUE CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS INTO TUESDAY. WILL LEAVE GOING EXTENDED ESSENTIALLY UNCHANGED WITH SNOW SHOWERS EACH DAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. GRAHAM LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: ALLEGAN...OTTAWA...MUSKEGON...AND KENT. LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: VAN BUREN...BARRY...KALAMAZOO...NEWYAGO...AND OCEANA.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Ottawa
- When
- December 25, 7:00 PM EST to December 27, 4:00 PM 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 25, 7:00 PM EST to December 27, 4:00 PM 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 25, 7:00 PM EST to December 27, 4:00 PM 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 25, 7:00 PM EST to December 27, 4:00 PM 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 25, 7:00 PM EST to December 27, 4:00 PM 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)
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
More
Every storm in Michigan in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5274745, 5274746, 5274747, 5274748, 5274749, 5274750.