Heavy Snow, Allegan
- When
- December 19, 3:00 AM EST to December 20, 1:00 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)
Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 19 to 20, 2003
A narrow dominant lake effect snow band developed over the western half of Allegan county and most of Van Buren county. Six to twelve inches of snow fell in a band from Holland to Paw Paw.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- 2
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 narrow dominant lake effect snow band developed over the western half of Allegan county and most of Van Buren county. Six to twelve inches of snow fell in a band from Holland to Paw Paw. Most of the snow fell between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on the 19th, though the event lasted for twenty two hours, from the early morning hours of the 19th until around 1 a.m. on the 20th. The heaviest snowfall report was received from Paw Paw (Van Buren county), where twelve inches of snow was reported.
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 18, 10:40 PM EST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 18, 10:40 PM EST, 4 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1040 PM EST THU DEC 18 2003 .UPDATE... LATEST WV SATELLITE IMAGERY THIS EVENING SHOWS THE UPPER WAVE THAT WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INCREASE IN SNOW SHOWER ACTIVITY AND THE COLD AIR IS OUT TO OUR WEST/NORTHWEST. ONLY A FEW FLURRIES HAVE BEEN REPORTED THIS EVENING AS SHORT WAVE RIDGING IS MOVING OVER THE AREA OUT AHEAD OF THE INCOMING WAVE. THE LATEST MODEL DATA AND TRENDS CONTINUE TO BRING THE EFFECTS OF THIS WAVE AND THE COLD AIR OVER THE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT. THIS TREND IS CONSISTENT WITH PREVIOUS THINKING WITH THIS SYSTEM. MODEL PROGS SHOW A DRASTIC INCREASE OF MOISTURE UP THROUGH 500 MB AS THE WAVE MOVES IN. THE SYNOPTIC SUPPORT...DEEP MOISTURE...AND INSTABILITY (DELTA T/S EXPECTED TO RISE TO THE MID TO UPPER TEENS) EXPECTED AS A RESULT OF THE COLD AIR COMING IN OVER LAKE MICHIGAN ALL SUPPORT SNOW SHOWERS DEVELOPING AND INTENSIFYING OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. WE DID NOT ADJUST ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS FOR THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THE MOST SNOW SHOULD FALL OVER THE SW CORNER OF THE CWFA TOWARD DAYBREAK AS THE BEST LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE OVERNIGHT IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR THEN. NO ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE TO TEMPERATURES AS CURRENT TRENDS SEEM REASONABLE. WINDS WERE ONLY ADJUSTED TO TAKE OUT EARLY WORDING. UPDATED ZONES AND ARBWSWGRR ARE ALREADY OUT. && .GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR LATE TONIGHT AND FRIDAY FOR THE LAKESHORE COUNTIES PLUS LAKE AND KALAMAZOO COUNTIES. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE NEARSHORE. && NJJ
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 18, 6:31 PM EST, 8 hours 29 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 631 PM EST THU DEC 18 2003 MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-191200- ALLEGAN-BARRY-CALHOUN-CLARE-CLINTON-EATON-GRATIOT-INGHAM-IONIA- ISABELLA-JACKSON-KALAMAZOO-KENT-LAKE-MASON-MECOSTA-MONTCALM-MUSKEGON- NEWAYGO-OCEANA-OSCEOLA-OTTAWA-VAN BUREN- 631 PM EST THU DEC 18 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THIS EVENING PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE THROUGH MIDNIGHT WITH SNOW SHOWERS DEVELOPING OVERNIGHT. COOLER AIR FLOWS IN FROM THE NORTHWEST OVERNIGHT KICKING UP LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS. SNOW SHOWERS WILL INCREASE IN INTENSITY ALONG THE IMMEDIATE LAKE SHORE COUNTIES...INCLUDING KALAMAZOO COUNTY WITH ACCUMULATIONS THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING APPROACHING 3 TO 5 INCHES. INLAND COUNTIES CAN EXPECT A GENERAL 1 TO 2 INCHES THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. WAVES OF 3 TO 5 FEET ON LAKE MICHIGAN FROM NEW BUFFALO TO MANISTEE WILL CREATE A HAZARD TO SMALL CRAFT TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. WITH NORTHWEST WINDS EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN OVERNIGHT LARGER WAVES CAN BE EXPECTED EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WIDESPREAD LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS ARE FORECASTED FOR FRIDAY AND INTO FRIDAY NIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED AND THUS A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES HAS BEEN ISSUED. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES WILL CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY NIGHT. WAVES UP TO 10 FEET ARE FORECASTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE PERIOD. BEACHLER
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Van Buren
- When
- December 19, 3:00 AM EST to December 20, 1:00 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)
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
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, December 19 to 20, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Virginia, December 19 to 20, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 19, 2003
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, December 19 to 20, 2003
- Flooding in Connecticut, December 19 to 21, 2003
- Winter Weather in Georgia, December 19 to 20, 2003
- Heavy Snow in New York, December 19, 2003
More
Every storm in Michigan in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 2003
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: 5371737, 5371738.