1 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
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 24, 11:00 AM EST, 2 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1100 AM EST WED DEC 24 2003 .UPDATE... COMPLEX PATTERN SETTING OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. UPPER LOW IS NEAR LAN AT 15Z. THERE APPEARS TO BE TOO MUCH SHEAR AND SUBSIDENCE ON THE BACKSIDE OF THIS LOW AT THE PRESENT TIME TO DEVELOP PERSISTENT LAKE EFFECT SNOW BANDS. PROFILER DATA OVER NW INDIANA CONFIRMS THIS WITH WINDS ABRUPTLY SHIFTING TO THE WEST ABOVE 7K FT. MEANWHILE THE PROFILER OVER WESTERN WISCONSIN SHOWS WINDS NNW THROUGH THE LOW AND MID LEVELS. SO ANTICIPATING MORE UNIDIRECTIONAL WINDS TO SET UP BY AFTERNOON WHEN THE SNOW BANDS SHOULD COME TOGETHER. ALSO STILL AWAITING THE THERMAL TROF TO COME OVER THE LAKE. THIS OCCURS EARLY THIS EVENING. SO ALTHOUGH LITTLE HAS COME TOGETHER AT THIS POINT...EXPECT IT WILL THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. WIND TRAJECTORY STILL FAVORS ALLEGAN AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES...WITH THE SW CORNER OF OTTAWA AND KALAMAZOO COUNTIES GETTING CLIPPED. WILL LEAVE HEADLINES AND SNOW ACCUM AS IS. ANOTHER ASPECT OF THE GOING FORECAST IS A VORT MAX THAT IS JUST NORTH OF LAKE HURON AND PIN WHEELING SW TOWARD THE CWA. SNOW IS RATHER COMMON AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE OVER NE LOWER MI. THIS SNOW SHOULD WORK SOUTH...REACHING THE CLARE...MT PLEASANT AND BIG RAPIDS AREAS TOWARD MID AFTERNOON. WILL NEED TO INCREASE POPS TO LIKELY AND MENTION AROUND AN INCH OF ACCUM. ANOTHER BATCH OF SNOW IS OVER GRATIOT COUNTY ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LOW. THIS AREA OF SNOW SHOULD DRIFT SE WITH THE UPPER LOW AND EXIT THE CWA BY MID AFTERNOON. REPORTS OF AROUND ONE INCH HAS BEEN RECEIVED IN THE BATCH. WILL ALSO INCLUDE LIKELY POPS FOR CLINTON AND INGHAM COUNTIES AND MENTION AN INCH THERE TOO. && .GRR...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH 7 AM CHRISTMAS DAY FOR OTTAWA...ALLEGAN...VAN BUREN...AND KALAMAZOO COUNTIES. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NEARSHORE WATERS FROM NEW BUFFALO TO MANISTEE. && LAURENS MH JK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED TIME IN HEADER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 600 AM EST WED DEC 24 2003 MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-251100- ALLEGAN-BARRY-CALHOUN-CLARE-CLINTON-EATON-GRATIOT-INGHAM-IONIA- ISABELLA-JACKSON-KALAMAZOO-KENT-LAKE-MASON-MECOSTA-MONTCALM-MUSKEGON- NEWAYGO-OCEANA-OSCEOLA-OTTAWA-VAN BUREN- 600 AM EST WED 24 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR OTTAWA...ALLEGAN...VAN BUREN AND ALLEGAN COUNTIES UNTIL 7 AM CHRISTMAS MORNING. AREAS IN THE WARNING...GENERALLY SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM ALLENDALE TO KALAMAZOO...COULD SEE UP TO A FOOT OF NEW SNOW BY EARLY CHRISTMAS MORNING. THE REMAINDER OF FORECAST AREA SHOULD SEE SNOWFALL IN THE TWO INCH OR LESS RANGE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...CHRISTMAS DAY THROUGH TUESDAY THERE WILL BE A GENERAL WARMING TREND FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY AND RAINFALL SHOULD AFFECT THE AREA EARLY SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THERE WILL BE A BRIEF CHANCE FOR SOME FREEZING RAIN EARLY MONDAY MORNING. COLDER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA AGAIN MONDAY AND TUESDAY BRINGING A CHANCE FOR MIXED RAIN AND SNOW DURING THE DAY MONDAY BEFORE CHANGING OVER TO SNOW ON TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM SPOTTERS THROUGH THURSDAY WOULD BE USEFUL. MWH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
This was a combination low pressure system and lake enhanced snowfall event. Up to six inches of snow fell in a narrow area of Allegan county west of US-31.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 2003
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: 5371739.