Michigan, 2001

Winter Storm in Michigan, February 8 to 10, 2001

February 8 to 10, 2001 · NWS MQT · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Southwest flow aloft allowed several disturbances from the Plains to move across the northern Great Lakes, depositing a wintery mix of precipitation on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The precipitation began on the 8th as rain near Lake Michigan and as a mix of snow, sleet and freezing drizzle over the western half of the Upper Peninsula.

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

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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 MQT wrote it up.

Southwest flow aloft allowed several disturbances from the Plains to move across the northern Great Lakes, depositing a wintery mix of precipitation on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The precipitation began on the 8th as rain near Lake Michigan and as a mix of snow, sleet and freezing drizzle over the western half of the Upper Peninsula. Between the snow to the west and the rain near Lake Michigan, a band of freezing rain over Menominee, Delta and Alger counties deposited up to a tenth of an inch of ice overnight on the 8th and the early morning hours of the 9th. Icy roads prompted area schools to close on the 9th and contributed to numerous minor traffic mishaps. As winds turned to the north and colder air arrived on the morning of the 9th, the freezing rain turned to snow and put 3 to 5 inches of snow on top of the icy roads by nightfall. Moderate to heavy snows began by afternoon on the 9th in the Lake Effect snowbelt. North winds gusting to as high as 40 mph caused considerable blowing and drifting snow and wind chills as low as 30 below zero. By the time the storm loosened its grip on the Upper Peninsula on the 10th, Laurium accumulated 24 inches of snow, 22 inches piled up in Phoenix, Ironwood received 20.6 inches, Ontonagon and Shingleton each reported 15 inches, the National Weather Service office in Marquette recorded 14.8 inches, and Munising received 11 inches.

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 Marquette, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 8, 10:30 AM EST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 8, 10:30 AM EST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI
1030 AM EST THU FEB 8 2001

12Z RAOBS/WV LOOP SHOW BROAD UPR RDG OVR GRT LKS IN SPLIT FLOW E OF
NRN BRANCH TROF OVR NRN ROCKIES AND VIGOROUS SRN BRANCH CUTOFF LO
OVR AZ. 110KT H3 JET MAX NOTED OVR DAKOTAS IN CONFLUENT FLOW BTWN
THESE BRANCHES...AND THIS JET SUPPORTING A SFC-H85 WAVE ON SHARP BUT
SHALLOW FNT ACRS MID-UPR MS VALLEY. ANOTHER 100+KT JET OVR NRN NM.
IR LOOP SHOWS EXPANDING AREA OF COLDER CLD TOPS ACRS NRN PLAINS
ASSOCIATED WITH THESE JETS AND UPR DVGC. CWA DOMINATED BY GENERAL
ELY CYC FLOW WELL N OF THIS BNDRY WITH SOME ISENTROPIC LIFT IN
ENTRANCE RGN OF ANOTHER 100KT H3 JET MAX OVR SE ONTARIO. 12Z GRB
SDNG SHOWS FNTL INVRN AT H925. INCRSG LLVL MOISTENING (MQT VWP SHOWS
20KT ESELY FLOW AT 2-3K FT AGL) ONGOING WITH DWPT UP TO 27 AT MNM.
HOWEVER... DRYING ALF DEPICTED ON WV/IR LOOP (12Z GRB SDNG INDICATES
DRYING ABV H6) AND H85-5/H5-3 QVECTOR DVGC PER 12Z RUC LIMITING PCPN
INTENSITY TO JUST SPOTTY -SN. IN FACT...LATEST 88D REFLECTIVITY
TREND INDICATES DCRSG -SN COVG. -FZDZ OBSVD TO S WHERE SAT SUGS
DRIER AIR XTNDS FARTHER DOWN INTO LWR TROP. RELATIVELY HI LLVL
STABILITY AND CONSIDERABLE LLVL SHEAR DEPICTED ON RUC ANAL/FCST
SDNGS FOR CMX LIMITING POTENTIAL FOR ANY LK ENHANCED SN IN THE
KEWEENAW DESPITE ELY LLVL WND.

MAIN FCST CONCERNS TDAY CENTER ARND PCPN TRENDS. 12Z RUC APPEARS TO
HAVE BEST HANDLE ON CURRENT MSLP/PCPN AND SHOWS UPR JET MAXES
LIFTING NEWD THRU UPR MS VALLEY AND TOWARD ONTARIO TDAY. CWA PRETTY
MUCH REMAINS IN ACYC SIDE OF THESE JETS WITH WEAK UPR CNVGC AND H5-3
QVECTOR DVGC...ESPECIALLY OVR THE ERN ZNS DESPITE CONTD LLVL
MOISTENING. BEST OPPORTUNITY TO GET SOME UPR DVGC AND DEEPER MSTR WL
BE OVR THE WRN ZNS. IN FACT...RUC DEPICTS FAIRLY INTENSE H85-5
QVECTOR CNVGC OVR WRN ZNS LATER THIS AFTN. UPR LVL SUBSIDENCE WITH
LLVL MOISTENING FAVORS -FZDZ...SO WL KEEP MENTION OF THIS PCPN IN E
AND CNTRL AND ADD TO WRN ZNS THRU EARLY THIS AFTN. BUT THEN XPCT
INCRSG SN OVR WRN ZNS DURG AFTN TO COINCIDE WITH ARRIVAL OF H85-5
QVECTOR CNVGC AND COLDER CLD TOPS. 3G/KG AVBL ON 290K ISENTROPIC SFC
FOR PCPN IN WAD PATTERN...SO OFF AND ON SN FOR 6 HRS SHUD ACCUMULATE
1-2 INCHES OVR THE W AS IN GOING FCST. LESS THAN AN INCH ELSEWHERE.

GOING TEMPS FCST NEEDS ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENT.

.MQT...WINTER STORM WATCH TONIGHT/FRIDAY MIZ001>007-009>014.

KC

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Gogebic

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to February 10, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Gogebic forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
46.496, -89.796 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ontonagon

When
February 8, 1:00 PM EST to February 10, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Ontonagon forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.778, -89.305 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Menominee

When
February 8, 3:00 PM EST to February 10, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Menominee forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
45.525, -87.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Delta

When
February 8, 3:00 PM EST to February 10, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Delta forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
45.792, -86.871 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Alger

When
February 8, 3:00 PM EST to February 10, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Alger forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
46.451, -86.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Houghton

When
February 8, 3:00 PM EST to February 10, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Houghton forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.992, -88.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Keweenaw

When
February 8, 3:00 PM EST to February 10, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Keweenaw forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.283, -88.212 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Marquette

When
February 8, 3:00 PM EST to February 10, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Marquette forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
46.663, -87.573 (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, February 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: 5232099, 5232100, 5232096, 5232097, 5232098, 5232101, 5232102, 5232103.