A lingering low pressure trough over southern Lake Superior dropped heavy lake effect snow over portions of western Upper Michigan on the evening of the 2nd into the morning of the 3rd.
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.
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.
A lingering low pressure trough over southern Lake Superior dropped heavy lake effect snow over portions of western Upper Michigan on the evening of the 2nd into the morning of the 3rd.
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 Dec 2, 4:15 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 515 PM EST SAT DEC 2 2006 .DISCUSSION... LES EVENT CONTINUES TO BE A CHALLENGE. MAIN FCST CONCERNS ARE OBVIOUSLY SNOW AMOUNTS AND HEADLINES TONIGHT/SUN. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY/RUC ANALYSIS AND 12Z RAOBS SHOW CLOSED MIDLEVEL LOW OVER NRN MN WITH A SHORTWAVE TROF EXTENDING SE THRU UPPER MI. NEARLY COINCIDENT WITH CENTER OF MIDLEVEL LOW...12Z KINL SOUNDING SHOWED A DEEP MOIST PROFILE TO 600MB WITH TEMPS BTWN 800-650MB DOWN 4-6C IN THE LAST 12HR. 850MB TEMP WAS -15C. SO...A FAVORABLE AIRMASS FOR LES WILL PASS ACROSS THE LAKE WITH SYSTEM. AT THE SFC... CONVERGENCE ZONE HAS SET UP A BIT FARTHER N THAN MOST OF THE PREVIOUS MODEL RUNS HAD INDICATED...AND IN GENERAL SFC WINDS ARE STRONGER. ILL-DEFINED MESOLOW AT 21Z APPEARS TO BE LOCATED JUST W OF ISLE ROYALE WITH CONVERGENCE ZONE RUNNING ACROSS ISLE ROYALE TO JUST N OF THE KEWEENAW THEN SE TOWARD GRAND MARAIS. CONVERGENCE HAS REALLY STRENGTHENED IN THE LAST HR OR SO. ACROSS ISLE ROYALE...ROCK OF AGES HAS A WIND OF 240 AT 25G29KT WHILE PASSAGE ISLAND IS 070 AT 23G26KT. THUNDER BAY RADAR SHOWS HVY SNOW OCCURRING OVER ISLE ROYALE IN THE STRONG CONVERGENCE. TO THE SE... STANNDARD ROCK WIND IS 280 AT 23KT WHILE WHITEFISH POINT IS 130 AT 8KT. IN THE SW FLOW ACROSS WRN LAKE SUPERIOR...SW TO NE ORIENTED LES BANDS HAVE DEVELOPED AND ARE IMPACTING THE KEWEENAW PER SATELLITE IMAGERY/SFC OBS AND WEB CAMS. OTHERWISE...DECENT SWATH OF MOSTLY -SN HAS SPREAD ACROSS MUCH OF UPPER MI TODAY IN ASSOCIATION WITH SHORTWAVE TROF MOVING ACROSS THE AREA. APPEARS SOME LAKE ENHANCEMENT OFF LAKE MICHIGAN HAS BRIEFLY OCCURRED OVER THE FAR ERN FCST AREA...AND RADAR IMAGERY SUGGESTS A POSSIBLE MESOLOW MOVING ENE ACROSS LUCE COUNTY ATTM. KERY OB REPORTED 1/4SM SN AT 2058Z AND 2115Z. 12Z GFS/NAM CONTINUE TO SHOW VERY FAVORABLE TEMP/MOISTURE PROFILES FOR HVY LES TONIGHT/SUN MORNING WITH DEEP MOISTURE UPWARDS OF 15KFT (SIMILAR TO 12Z KINL SOUNDING) AND FAVORABLE INTERSECTION OF UPWARD MOTION WITH BEST DENDRITIC SNOW GROWTH TEMPS. IN ADDITION...IR/WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SUGGEST HEALTHY FORCING/DEEP MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND N SIDE OF MIDLEVEL LOW ALONG AND JUST N OF MN/ONTARIO BORDER. THIS WILL BE SLIDING ESE TONIGHT...FURTHER SUPPORTING THE DEEP MOISTURE PROFILES INDICATED BY THE MODELS. QUESTION CONTINUES TO REVOLVE AROUND LOW-LEVEL WIND FIELDS AND RESULTANT CONVERGENCE. MOST OF THE 12Z MODELS HAVE A DECENT HANDLE ON CURRENT WIND FLOW OVER LAKE SUPERIOR AND SURROUNDING AREAS...BUT 12Z REGIONAL CANADIAN MODEL LOOKS TO HAVE THE BEST FIT AT 18Z. WITH ITS SOLUTION...AN ELONGATED CONVERGENCE ZONE EVOLVES IN ASSOCIATION WITH MESOLOW THIS EVENING...SNAKING NE FROM NEAR THE APOSTLES TO THE TIP OF THE KEWEENAW AND THEN SE TOWARD WHITEFISH POINT. GFS/NAM/RUC13/LOCAL HI RESOLUTION WRF RUN HAVE SIMILAR PATTERNS...JUST SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TIMING OF THE PROGRESSION. IN ANYCASE...THEY ALL SUGGEST THE SAME END RESULT...THAT BEING A BAND OF VERY HVY SNOW. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE 2-4IN/HR SNOW RATES IN THE MAIN SNOW BAND THAT WILL IMPACT MOST OF THE COUNTIES BORDERING LAKE SUPERIOR. AFTER CONVERGENCE MOVES ONSHORE...N WIND FAVORED SNOWBELTS WILL SEE MDT TO OCCASIONALLY HVY SNOW THRU SUN MORNING. WARNING ON THE KEWEENAW LOOKS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE SINCE THAT AREA IS SEEING SW FLOW LES NOW. ONCE WINDS SHIFT TO THE N LATER TONIGHT...SNOW SHOULD DIMINISH SIGNIFICANTLY THERE. 18Z RUC SUGGESTS WARNING MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED PAST 06Z AS CONVERGENCE ZONE IS JUST REACHING THE TIP OF THE KEWEENAW AT 06Z. THIS WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED. OTHERWISE...WILL START WARNINGS FOR ONTONAGON/GOGEBIC MID/LATE EVENING AND RUN THRU THE DAY SUN UNDER FAVORABLE N OR NNW FLOW. WIND SHIFT WILL ARRIVE LATER THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED FOR THE NCNTRL COUNTIES. WILL BEGIN WARNING FOR BARAGA AT 06Z AND MARQUETTE AT 10Z AND RUN BOTH THRU THE DAY SUN. SOME SPOTS IN THE WARNING AREAS SHOULD SEE A FOOT OR MORE OF SNOW. WIND SHIFT SHOULD REACH ALGER AROUND 12Z...HAVE OPTED FOR AN ADVY THERE ON SUN WITH HIGH END ADVY TOTALS. FETCH ACROSS LAKE SUPERIOR INTO LUCE COUNTY IMPROVES SUN...BUT BEST FORCING WILL HAVE PASSED BY THEN. NO HEADLINES ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE WILL PASS ACROSS THE AREA MON FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER TUE NIGHT/WED MORNING. BOTH SHOULD BRING A PERIOD OF MDT/BRIEFLY HVY LES TO MAINLY THE AREAS FAVORED BY NW WINDS. EXPECT ONLY SOME -SN ELSEWHERE WITH BOTH SYSTEM. WED THRU SAT...TYPICAL EARLY DEC WEATHER WILL BE THE RULE FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THIS TIME FRAME WITH LES OFF LAKE SUPERIOR...AND TEMPS BLO NORMAL AS GENERAL MEAN TROF POSITION WILL BE OVER ERN NAMERICA. AT THE END OF THIS FCST PERIOD AND INTO NEXT WEEK...LOOKS LIKE A TRANSITION WILL OCCUR TO A MORE TYPICAL EL NINO TYPE PATTERN WITH SPLIT FLOW ACROSS NAMERICA. NRN STREAM WILL LIFT INTO CANADA... ALLOWING PACIFIC AIRMASSES TO BECOME MORE DOMINANT ACROSS MUCH OF THE COUNTRY. UKMET/ECWMF/CANADIAN/GFS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT ON THE PATTERN DISCUSSED ABOVE...BUT HAVE OPTED TO FOLLOW THE ECMWF GIVEN ITS RECENT CONSISTENCY FOR THE LAST HALF OF THE WEEK. PLUS...GFS IS COMING AROUND TOWARD THE ECWMF SOLUTION OF HAVING ONE LAST SIGNIFICANT SHORTWAVE AND ASSOCIATED SHOT OF ARCTIC AIR FOR WED. SHOULD PROVIDE FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF DECENT LES AS 850MB TEMPS DROP TOWARD -20C. NW FLOW AREAS WILL BE FAVORED...BUT THERE MAY BE A QUICK SHOT OF NRLY FLOW INTIALLY BEHIND COLD FROPA. BUILDING AREA OF SFC HIGH PRES WILL THEN SETTLE SE OVER THE PLAINS THU AND MOVE E FRI. SO...A LIGHTER PURE LES REGIME SHOULD PREVAIL THU FOR NW AND THEN W FLOW AREAS AS WINDS BACK. EXPECT A DIMINISHING TREND AS WELL AS 850MB TEMPS BEGIN TO MODERATE WITH INVERSIONS LOWERING. WAA KICKS INTO HIGH GEAR THU NIGHT WITH ENOUGH WARMING TO END LES BY FRI MORNING. PACIFIC AIRMASS AND DRY WEATHER WILL BE THE RULE FOR FRI/SAT WITH TEMPS RETURNING TO AND THEN ABOVE NORMAL. && .MQT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LES WARNING MIZ001-003 UNTIL 06Z SUN. LES WARNING MIZ002-009 FROM 03Z TO 24Z SUN. LES WARNING MIZ004 FROM 06Z TO 24Z SUN. LES WARNING MIZ005 FROM 10Z TO 24Z SUN. LES ADVY MIZ006 FROM 12Z TO 24Z SUN. && ROLFSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 440 PM EST SAT DEC 2 2006 MIZ001>007-009>014-084-085-031200- KEWEENAW-ONTONAGON-NORTHERN HOUGHTON-BARAGA-MARQUETTE-ALGER-LUCE- GOGEBIC-IRON-DICKINSON-MENOMINEE-DELTA-SOUTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- SOUTHERN HOUGHTON-NORTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- 440 PM EST SAT DEC 2 2006 /340 PM CST SAT DEC 2 2006/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A FOOT OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE KEWEENAW PENINSULA TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING AS A BAND OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW SETS UP OVER THE AREA. THESE HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS WILL THEN SHIFT TO THE SOUTH...OVER WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN FROM DAYBREAK SUNDAY THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED. SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER STATEMENT FOR COMPLETE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL UPPER PENINSULA THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER STATEMENT FOR COMPLETE DETAILS. TWO QUICK MOVING STORM SYSTEMS WILL SLIDE IN FOR MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY AND THEN TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY...WITH ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT LAKE EFFECT SNOW POSSIBLE FOR AREAS FAVORED BY NORTHWEST WINDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. HOWEVER SNOWFALL REPORTS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED TODAY AND TONIGHT. LSZ221-241>248-263-264-031200- KEWEENAW BAY AND HURON BAY FROM LOWER ENTRANCE LIGHT TO PORTAGE LAKE TO HURON ISLANDS MI-SAXON HARBOR WI TO ONTONAGON MI- ONTONAGON TO UPPER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL MI- UPPER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL TO MANITOU ISLAND MI- MANITOU ISLAND TO LOWER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL MI- HURON ISLANDS TO MARQUETTE MI-MARQUETTE TO MUNISING MI- MUNISING TO GRAND MARAIS MI-GRAND MARAIS TO WHITEFISH POINT MI- LAKE SUPERIOR, EAST OF A LINE FROM SAXON HARBOR WI TO GRAND PORTAGE, MN, TO A LINE NORTHWARD FROM MANITOU IS. MI, BEYOND 5 NM AND SOUTH OF THE US/CANADIAN BORDER- LAKE SUPERIOR, EAST OF A LINE FROM MANITOU IS. MI NORTHWARD BEYOND 5 NM AND SOUTH OF THE US/CANADIAN BORDER, EXCLUDING WHITEFISH BAY- 440 PM EST SAT DEC 2 2006 /340 PM CST SAT DEC 2 2006/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN LAKE SUPERIOR...CENTRAL LAKE SUPERIOR AND WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. LMZ221-248-262-031200- BAY OF GREEN BAY NORTH OF LINE FROM CEDAR RIVER MI TO ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE-SEUL CHOIX POINT TO POINT DETOUR MI- LAKE MICHIGAN...FROM SEUL CHOIX POINT TO ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE...SOUTHEASTWARD BEYOND 5 NM OFF SHORE TO THE MID- LINE OF THE LAKE- 440 PM EST SAT DEC 2 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. KF
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Observers reported 12-hour snowfall amounts of 18 inches in Marenisco and 13 inches in Wakefield.
Toivola reported eight inches of snowfall in 12 hours.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 2006
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: 9272, 9279.