Winter Storm, Muskegon
- When
- December 28, 4:00 PM EST to December 29, 12:00 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 in Michigan, December 28 to 29, 2001
Even more lake effect snow redeveloped on the 28th and continued through the 29th, producing additional snowfall of 8 to as much as twenty two inches across the area. The heaviest snow fell in Bloomingdale (Van Buren county), where 15 inches of snow fell in 24 hours and 22 inches of snow fell from the 28th through the 29th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
- 8
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.
Even more lake effect snow redeveloped on the 28th and continued through the 29th, producing additional snowfall of 8 to as much as twenty two inches across the area. The heaviest snow fell in Bloomingdale (Van Buren county), where 15 inches of snow fell in 24 hours and 22 inches of snow fell from the 28th through the 29th. The axis of heaviest snow set up south of Grand Rapids, mainly from Battle Creek west to the shore of Lake Michigan. 12 to 18 inches of snow was common across that area. There was also a narrow strip of around a foot of snow that fell about 25 miles inland from Ottawa county north to Mason county. These were the final days of moderate to heavy lake effect snow which persisted through the week. Storm total snowfalls broke all previous records for snowfall in one week in several locations across southwest Michigan. Grandville (Kent county) ended up with 70.2 inches of snow for the week, which was the greatest reported snowfall total across the area. Bloomingdale (Van Buren county) ended up with a total of 60.2 inches of snowfall for the week. The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Grand Rapids (Kent county) had a storm total snowfall of 50.6 inches for the week. Generally speaking, the heaviest snow accumulations for the week occurred along the US-131 corridor from Grand Rapids down through Allegan county, where two to four feet 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 28, 11:45 AM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 28, 11:45 AM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1145 AM EST FRI DEC 28 2001 NICE AREA OF CONVERGENCE HAS SET UP THIS MORNING ACROSS SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN PRIMARILY BETWEEN I-96 AND I-94. SURFACE OBS INDICATE NORTHWEST FLOW AT MUSKEGON...HOLLAND...AND GRAND RAPIDS WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW AT BENTON HARBOR...KALAMAZOO...AND BATTLE CREEK. AS ONE WOULD EXPECT WITH THIS LOW LEVEL FLOW CONFIGURATION THE HEAVIEST LAKE EFFECT SNOW HAS SET UP ACROSS ALLEGAN...VAN BUREN AND KALAMAZOO COUNTIES. THE BAND HAS SHIFTED SLOWLY N OVER THE PAST HOUR AND WESTERN BARRY COUNTY WILL BEGIN PICKING UP HEAVIER SNOW. KGRR VWP SHOWS THAT THE FLOW IS A LITTLE MORE NORTHWEST THAT WHAT WE HAVE SEEN MOST OF THE WEEK HELPING TO SET UP THE BEST CONVERGENCE A LITTLE FURTHER S THAN PREVIOUS DAYS. SNOWFALL RATES UNDERNEATH THIS BAND ARE CERTAINLY HITTING AN INCH AN HOUR IN SPOTS AND HAVE KEPT PRETTY HEALTHY SNOW TOTALS IN FOR THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS ALLEGAN...VAN BUREN...KALAMAZOO...AND BARRY COUNTIES. DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THIS BAND WILL MOVE MUCH UNTIL THE FLOW BEGINS TO BACK A BIT AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING SHORT WAVE LATER THIS EVENING. SO HAVE ADDED KALAMAZOO TO THE LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING THROUGH SATURDAY. ALTHOUGH KENT AND OTTAWA ARE SEEING VERY LITTLE ACTIVITY AT THIS TIME I HAVE KEPT THE WARNING THAT RUNS THROUGH SATURDAY INTACT. DO NOT WANT TO DROP WARNING ONLY TO REISSUE THIS AFTERNOON FOR POTENTIAL HEAVY SNOW TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING. I HAVE LOWERED SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN THE OTTAWA AND KENT COUNTY GROUP FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND KEPT THE WARNING UP FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVIER SNOWS TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. GRAHAM .GRR...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING THROUGH SATURDAY FOR OTTAWA...ALLEGAN...KENT...BARRY...KALAMAZOO AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Ottawa
- When
- December 28, 4:00 PM EST to December 29, 12:00 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 28, 4:00 PM EST to December 29, 12:00 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 28, 4:00 PM EST to December 29, 12:00 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 28, 4:00 PM EST to December 29, 12:00 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 28, 4:00 PM EST to December 29, 12:00 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 28, 4:00 PM EST to December 29, 12:00 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)
Winter Storm, Calhoun
- When
- December 28, 4:00 PM EST to December 29, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Calhoun forecast zone
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 42.247, -85.006 (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
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, December 28 to 30, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 28 to 30, 2001
- High Wind in Hawaii, December 28 to 31, 2001
- Winter Weather in West Virginia, December 28 to 29, 2001
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, December 28, 2001
- Winter Storm in California, December 28 to 29, 2001
- Drought in Pennsylvania, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 28, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 28 to 29, 2001
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: 5274751, 5274752, 5274753, 5274754, 5274755, 5274756, 5274757, 5274758.