Michigan, 2005

Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 5 to 7, 2005

December 5 to 7, 2005 · NWS APX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A passing upper level disturbance kicked lake effect snow into high gear again on the 5th and 6th. Central Emmet County, north of Little Traverse Bay, was hardest hit, with around a foot and a half of new snow in Bliss and Brutus by dawn on the 6th.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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 APX wrote it up.

A passing upper level disturbance kicked lake effect snow into high gear again on the 5th and 6th. Central Emmet County, north of Little Traverse Bay, was hardest hit, with around a foot and a half of new snow in Bliss and Brutus by dawn on the 6th. The snow wasn't quite as heavy elsewhere, but 6 to 10 inch accumulations still fell from northern Leelanau County, through the city of Charlevoix, and on toward Mullett Lake in Cheboygan County.

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 Gaylord, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 5, 10:40 AM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 5, 10:40 AM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 5, 5:00 AM EST, 9 hours before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Emmet

When
December 5, 2:00 PM EST to December 7, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Emmet forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
45.588, -84.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cheboygan

When
December 6, 5:00 AM EST to December 7, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Cheboygan forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
45.473, -84.492 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Leelanau

When
December 6, 6:00 AM EST to December 7, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Leelanau forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.152, -86.038 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Charlevoix

When
December 6, 10:00 AM EST to December 7, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Charlevoix forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

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

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5482861, 5482863, 5482864, 5482862.