An intense low pressure system moving across northern Lake Superior generated damaging winds over northwest Upper Michigan on November 9th. The following reports highlighted the event.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 episode as NWS MQT wrote it up.
An intense low pressure system moving across northern Lake Superior generated damaging winds over northwest Upper Michigan on November 9th. The following reports highlighted the event. -100-foot U.S. Coast Guard tower blown down in Keweenaw County. Antenna for tower was also damaged. Total replacement cost for the tower and antenna was estimated at $150,000 by the U.S. Coast Guard. -Several ten-inch diameter trees downed one mile north of Jacobsville in Houghton County. -Wind gust was measured at 58 mph by a trained spotter in Ontonagon. -Maximum wind gust measured at 66 mph by the Houghton County Airport ASOS. -Several trees downed four miles southeast of Ontonagon. -Three 8-12 inch diameter trees uprooted in Keweenaw Bay in Baraga County.-A few ten-inch diameter spruce trees were downed three miles west-southwest of Eagle Harbor.
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 Nov 9, 4:10 AM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 410 AM EST WED NOV 9 2005 .DISCUSSION... WINDS/PCPN CHANCES WITH STRONG STORM THROUGH TONIGHT ARE MAIN CONCERNS LOW PRES OVR N MN WITH PRES OF 996MB POISED TO DEEPEN SLIGHTLY BLO 990MB BY MIDDAY TODAY AS IT SHIFTS INTO N CNTRL LK SUPERIOR. LEADING COLD FRONT HAS PUSHED PAST KDLH AND IS TAKING AIM ON W UPR MI ATTM. AFTER A 1-2 HR LAG WINDS IN WAKE OF THE COLD FRONT ARE GUSTING TO 40-45KT IN W/NW MN. SECONDARY FRONT WITH COLDER AIR AND CHANGEOVER TO SNOW IS PRESSING INTO NW MN ATTM AND THIS IS WHERE THE MORE IMPRESSIVE ISALLOBARIC PRES RISE/FALL COUPLET IS NOTED. LATEST WIND GRIDS FOR TODAY/TONIGHT STAYING PRETTY CLOSE TO PREV FCST. BUMPED UP WINDS OVR BARAGA AND MARQUETTE COUNTIES BTWN 18Z TODAY AND 00Z THU AS THIS IS WHEN PRES RISES TOWARD 10 MB/3HR SHIFT OVR LK SUPERIOR AND NAM/GFS INDICATE H85 WINDS OF 50-60KT. THUS...NOW HAVE HIGH WIND WARNINGS FOR ALL ZONES ALONG LK SUPERIOR AND WIND ADVY FOR SRN TIER. WRESTLED A BIT WHETHER TO GO WITH WARNING THERE AS WELL BUT SINCE TRACK OF SHORTWAVE AND BEST ISALLOBARIC PUSH ARE OVR N HALF OF LK SUPEROIOR THINK GUSTS EARLY IN AFTN THERE WILL END UP JUST BELOW WARNING CRITERIA (45-55 MPH). ONLY OTHER CHANGE TO WIND HEADLINES WAS TO GO WITH STORM WARNING ON ALL OF LK SUPERIOR AS WE EXPECT...AT THE LEAST...FREQUENT GUSTS OVR 50 KT OVER THE LAKE. OTHER CONCERN WITH THIS WOUND UP MID NOV LOW IS PCPN AS IT BEGINS TO PULL AWAY THIS EVENING. ATTM COLD CONVEYOR BELT MOISTURE IS STAYING VERY CLOSE TO THE SFC LOW PRES OVR N MN. LITTLE PCPN IS NOTED BACK INTO DAKOTAS...ALTHOUGH AN OCCASIONAL REPORT OF LGT SNOW IS EMERGING FM NW MN ALONG SECONDARY FRONT. BEST CHANCE FOR ANY SYNOPTIC HELP FOR DEVELOPING LK EFFECT SNOWS WOULD BE LATE THIS AFTN INTO LATE THIS EVENING. DURING THIS TIME HIGHER RESOLUTION NAM INDICATES DEEP MOISTURE EXTENDING TO TOP OF INVERSION AROUND 800MB WITH H85 TEMPS AROUND -7C (LAKE-H85 DELTA T/S RISING TO AROUND 15C). AS FOR EXTENT OF SNOW SHOWERS...STILL THINK BEST COVERAGE OF SNOW WILL BE FARTHER INLAND AS 1000-850MB WINDS STAY ABOVE 30KT FOR MOST OF EVENING. AGREE WITH 00Z WORKSTATION ETA SHOWING MORE CONCENTRATED LK EFFECT QPF FM E GOGBIC INTO IRON AND NE INTO W MARQUETTE COUNTY. THIS MAY BE A BIT EXAGERATED BUT THIS IS WHERE THE BETTER UPSLOPE WOULD OCCUR WITH SUCH STRONG NW WINDS AND ORIENTATION OF HIGHEST TERRAIN. HOW WILL THE KEWEENAW FARE THOUGH WITH THESE STRONG NW WINDS? LIKE DAYSHIFT...THINK PRIMARY THREAT FM SNOW SHOWERS THIS EVENING WILL BE REDUCED VISIBILITY WITH COMBINATION OF PERSISTENT SNOW SHOWERS AND STRONG WINDS. BRIEF WINDOW OF LAKE ENHANCEMENT 21Z-03Z ON KEWEENAW COULD BE BEST CHANCE FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW. THAT SAID...EARLY SEASON STRONG WIND EVENTS ARE TRICKY FOR SNOW ACCUMULATION ON KEWEENAW WITH TEMPS OVR LK SUPERIOR STILL WARM AND SUCH SHORT TIME FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL LK SNOW BANDS TO AFFECT THE NARROW PENINSULA. GENERALLY KEPT 1-2 INCHES FOR TONIGHT OVR KEWEENAW WITH 2-3 INCHES FARTHER INLAND BOTH IN THE WESTERN AREAS MENTIONED EARLIER AND OVER INTERIOR SECTIONS FM W ALGER INTO W LUCE COUNTIES. STRONG WINDS MAY EVEN PUSH SOME MEASUREABLE SNOW INTO FAR N DELTA COUNTY. LK EFFECT LINGERS IN NW FLOW AREAS FIRST HALF OF THU BEFORE H85 RIDGING PUSHES IN LATE IN THE DAY. KEPT LIKELY POPS OVR E SECTIONS THEN TAPERED THESE TO SMALL CHANCES IN THE AFTN. FREEZING LEVELS OFF SOUNDINGS FOR ERY AND 1000-850MB THICKNESSES SUPPORT SNOW FOR PTYPE TOMORROW SO REMOVED ANY MENTION OF RAIN FOR AFTN. MADE NO OTHER CHANGES BEYOND THU AFTN. && .MQT...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 9 AM TO 6 PM EST TODAY MIZ001>003 HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 1 PM TO 6 PM EST TODAY MIZ004-005 HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 1 PM TO 10 PM EST TODAY MIZ006-007 WIND ADVISORY FROM 7 AM TO 6 PM EST WED MIZ009-010-084 WIND ADVISORY FROM 11 AM TO 8 PM EST WED MIZ011>014-085 STORM WARNING LAKE SUPERIOR. && JLA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 502 PM EST TUE NOV 8 2005 MIZ001>007-009>014-084-085-091200- ALGER-BARAGA-DELTA-DICKINSON-GOGEBIC-IRON-KEWEENAW-LUCE-MARQUETTE- MENOMINEE-NORTHERN HOUGHTON-NORTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT-ONTONAGON- SOUTHERN HOUGHTON-SOUTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- 502 PM EST TUE NOV 8 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS UPPER MICHIGAN ON WEDNESDAY. WEST WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH WILL DEVELOP OVER WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN DURING THE MORNING...AND PERSIST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE ALONG THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE KEWEENAW PENINSULA WHERE WINDS COULD GUST AS HIGH AS 60 MPH. THE STRONG WINDS WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL AND EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN DURING THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS...WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS AND POTENTIAL FOR 60 MPH GUSTS ALONG THE LAKE SUPERIOR SHORELINE FROM BIG BAY EASTWARD AND OVER THE HURON MOUNTAINS. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT FOR ALL OF WEST AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN. SOUTHEAST GALES ARE EXPECTED AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT ON LAKE SUPERIOR. WEST AND NORTHWEST GALES ARE EXPECTED ON WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR WEDNESDAY...ALONG WITH A FEW STORM FORCE GUSTS. STORM FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED ON EASTERN LAKE SUPERIOR WEDNESDAY. HIGH WAVES MAY LEAD TO MINOR LAKESHORE FLOODING AND BEACH EROSION ALONG THE LAKE SUPERIOR SHORELINE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...PARTICULARLY FROM AU TRAIN EAST TO WHITEFISH POINT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY STRONG WINDS WILL PERSIST OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. NORTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH MAY GUST AS HIGH AS 60 MPH EARLY WEDNESDAY EVENING ALONG THE LAKE SUPERIOR SHORELINE FROM BIG BAY EASTWARD AND OVER THE HURON MOUNTAINS. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS EAST OF MARQUETTE AND ESCANABA WEDNESDAY MORNING. NORTHWEST GALES ARE EXPECTED OVER WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT. NORTHWEST STORM FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED OVER EASTERN LAKE SUPERIOR WEDNESDAY EVENING...DIMINISHING TO GALES OVERNIGHT. HIGH WAVES MAY LEAD TO MINOR LAKESHORE FLOODING AND BEACH EROSION ALONG THE LAKE SUPERIOR SHORELINE WEDNESDAY NIGHT...PARTICULARLY FROM AU TRAIN EAST TO WHITEFISH POINT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED...ALTHOUGH REPORTS OF HIGH WINDS AND RELATED DAMAGE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING URL: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MQT (ALL LOWER CASE) TRH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A few ten-inch diameter spruce trees were downed three miles west-southwest of Eagle Harbor.
Wind gust measured at 58 mph by the Houghton County Airport ASOS.
WInd gust measured at 58 mph.
Wind gust measured at 62 mph by the Houghton County Airport ASOS.
Three 8-12 inch diameter trees uprooted in Keweenaw Bay.
Several trees downed four miles southeast of Ontonagon.
Wind gust measured at 66 mph by the Houghton County Airport ASOS.
Several ten-inch diameter trees downed one mile north of Jacobsville.
100-foot U.S. Coast Guard tower blown down. Antenna for tower was also damaged. Total replacement cost for the tower and antenna was estimated at $150,000 by the U.S. Coast Guard.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, November 2005
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: 5479541, 5479543, 5479542, 5479544, 5479545, 5479546, 5479547, 5479548, 5479583.