Lake-Effect Snow, Gogebic
- When
- December 10, 3:00 PM CST to December 11, 11:00 AM CST
- Where
- Gogebic forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.496, -89.796 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, December 10 to 11, 2005
A low pressure system tracking across southern Canada dragged an Arctic cold front across Upper Michigan during the overnight of the 10th-11th. North to northwest winds in the wake of this system dumped heavy lake-effect snow over higher terrain locations of Gogebic, Ontonagon and Alger Counties.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
- 3
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.
A low pressure system tracking across southern Canada dragged an Arctic cold front across Upper Michigan during the overnight of the 10th-11th. North to northwest winds in the wake of this system dumped heavy lake-effect snow over higher terrain locations of Gogebic, Ontonagon and Alger Counties. By the afternoon of the 11th, Eben Junction in Alger County and Ironwood both reported 11 inches of total snowfall while White Pine in Ontonagon County measured 10 inches.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Lake-Effect Snow, Ontonagon
- When
- December 10, 4:00 PM EST to December 11, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Ontonagon forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.778, -89.305 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lake-Effect Snow, Alger
- When
- December 10, 8:00 PM EST to December 11, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Alger forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.451, -86.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Lake-Effect Snow
- Heavy snow in bands downwind of a large lake as cold air crosses warmer water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Michigan in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 2005
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5483809, 5483810, 5483811.