Light snow began late on the 20th, and evolved into a blizzard across portions of lower Michigan on the 21st. The blizzard conditions impacted the lakeshore counties from Oceana county south, where a total of six to as much as twelve inches of snow fell and was accompanied by wind gusts of 40 to 45 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 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 GRR wrote it up.
Light snow began late on the 20th, and evolved into a blizzard across portions of lower Michigan on the 21st. The blizzard conditions impacted the lakeshore counties from Oceana county south, where a total of six to as much as twelve inches of snow fell and was accompanied by wind gusts of 40 to 45 mph.
This resulted in two to three foot snow drifts across portions of the area, which in conjunction with the blizzard to near blizzard conditions produced dangerous travel conditions. At the height of the storm, several stretches of highway were shut down due to multiple vehicle accidents.
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 20, 8:00 PM EST, 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 800 PM EST SAT DEC 20 2008 LATEST UPDATE...AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS...(353 PM EST SAT DEC 20 2008) LOW PRESSURE AND AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL BRING SNOW...HIGH WINDS AND BITTERLY COLD TEMPERATURES ON SUNDAY AND SUNDAY EVENING. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO NEAR ZERO AT TIMES ON SUNDAY. WEST WINDS WILL CARRY LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WELL INLAND ON SUNDAY. THE WINDS WILL GO NORTHWEST SUNDAY NIGHT AND THIS WILL CONFINE THE HEAVY SNOW TO AREAS ALONG THE LAKE MICHIGAN COAST. && .SHORT TERM...(353 PM EST SAT DEC 20 2008) (TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT) HAVE ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING/ADVISORY BASED ON EXPECTED SNOWFALL SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. THIS IS A LONG DURATION EVENT THAT CAN BE BROKEN INTO THREE DISTINCT PARTS. THE FIRST PART IS TONIGHT...WITH AN AREA OF WARM ADVECTION SNOW MOVING IN AS THE CLIPPER APPROACHES. SNOW CURRENTLY OVER NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN WILL ARRIVE ACROSS WESTERN FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING AND SPREAD ACROSS THE REST OF THE AREA BY 06Z. EXPECT A GENERAL 1 TO 3 INCH EVENT BEFORE THE ARCTIC AIR BLASTS IN AND THIS TRANSITIONS TO A WEST FLOW LAKE EFFECT EVENT ON SUNDAY. THE SECOND PART ON SUNDAY WILL FEATURE STRONG WEST WINDS AND HEAVY LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS. BOUNDARY LATER WINDS WILL BE TOO STRONG TO ALLOW FOR ORGANIZED PERSISTENT LAKE EFFECT BANDS...BUT STRONG CONVECTIVE ELEMENTS SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO PRODUCE WARNING CRITERIA SNOW DURING THE DAY...ESPECIALLY IN EXPECTED CONVERGENCE ZONE FROM I-94 TO I-96. MESOSCALE MODEL RUNS CONSISTENTLY SHOWING A BAND ALONG I-96 MUCH OF THE DAY. STRONG WEST FLOW WILL CARRY THE SNOW SHOWERS WELL INLAND...SO ADDED IONIA AND CALHOUN COUNTIES TO THE WARNING. WIND PROFILES SHOW 40 KTS IN THE MIXING LAYER...SO BLOWING SNOW WILL BE A PROBLEM MUCH OF THE DAY. TE THIRD PART WILL BE SUNDAY NIGHT WHEN THE WINDS WILL RELAX A BIT AND VEER TO THE NORTHWEST. THE LESSENING SHEAR AND LONGER FETCH WILL ALLOW FOR AN INTENSE SNOW BAND TO FORM AND AFFECT AREAS NEAR THE LAKE MICHIGAN SHORE...MOST LIKELY FROM HOLLAND TO SOUTH HAVEN. THIS COULD DROP A FOOT OR MORE OF SNOW BEFORE LOWERING INVERSION HEIGHTS AND WEST FLOW ARRIVE ON MONDAY. MONDAY WILL SEE SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS MOVING INLAND BEFORE ENDING MONDAY NIGHT AS SFC RIDGING MOVES IN. && .LONG TERM...(353 PM EST SAT DEC 20 2008) (TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY) THE NEXT POTENTIAL HIGH IMPACT/SIGNIFICANT EVENT IS A STRONG WARM ADVECTION SCENARIO TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT WITH BROAD SOUTHERLY FLOW OFF THE GULF OF MEXICO. 3-4 G/KG MIXING RATIOS SURGING NORTH ON THE 290K ISENTROPIC SURFACE MAY RESULT IN ANOTHER WIDESPREAD 6 OR MORE INCH SNOWFALL EVENT. ITS POSSIBLE THAT A MIXTURE OF PCPN TYPES WILL DEVELOP IN THE SRN CWFA IN THE LATTER PORTION OF THE EVENT... BUT DID NOT INCLUDE THAT THREAT AND KEPT IT ALL SNOW FOR NOW. ANOTHER WAVE MOVING ALONG THE BAROCLINIC ZONE...FOLLOWED BY COLD AIR SURGING BACK IN FROM THE WEST AS IT PASSES BY...MAY BRING SOME ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ON WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. ANOTHER STRONG WARM ADVECTION EVENT (WITH THE GULF WIDE OPEN AGAIN) APPEARS POSSIBLE NEXT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY... AND ATTM THIS ONE LOOKS MUCH WARMER. H8 TEMPS ON BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE PROGGED TO RISE WELL ABOVE FREEZING BY 00Z SAT... ALTHOUGH THE ECMWF IS PROBABLY OVERDONE WITH +10C H8 AIR SURGING INTO SRN LWR MI. OBVIOUSLY IT LOOKS LIKE THIS COULD BE A RAIN SYSTEM... ALTHOUGH THE DEEP SNOW PACK WILL LIKELY HOLD SURFACE TEMPS DOWN CONSIDERABLY. SINCE THIS EVENT IS STILL ALMOST A WEEK AWAY WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO PIN DOWN PCPN TYPES ATTM AND WILL CALL FOR A CHANCE OF SNOW OR RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN. && .MARINE...(353 PM EST SAT DEC 20 2008) WEST GALES ON SUNDAY GO NORTHWEST SUNDAY NIGHT WITH WAVES BUILDING TO 12 FEET. CALMER CONDITIONS ON MONDAY. && .AVIATION...(800 PM EST SAT DEC 20 2008) MVFR CEILINGS IN PLACE AT MOST TAFS SITES THIS EVENING...THE EXCEPTION BEING KMKG. THE LOWER CEILINGS SHOULD MOVE IN THERE VERY SHORTLY AS WELL. SNOW IS BEGINNING TO SPREAD INTO THE AREA FROM THE SOUTHWEST AT THIS TIME...WITH FLURRIES BEING REPORTED AS SOUTH HAVEN (KLWA) AND 2 1/2SM -SN BEING REPORTED AT BENTON HARBOR (KBEH). EXPECT THE LOWER CEILINGS (MVFR) TO BE IN PLACE THROUGH THE NIGHT WITH OCCASIONAL SNOW. AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE AREA AROUND DAYBREAK (BETWEEN 10-12Z). THE FRONT WILL PUSH MUCH COLDER AIR INTO THE AREA...AND COMMENCE WINDY CONDITIONS AND LAKE EFFECT SNOW SQUALLS. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL OCCUR AT ALL TAF SITES BY MIDDAY ON SUNDAY WITH LIFR CONDITIONS PREVAILING MOST OF THE AFTERNOON. NEAR BLIZZARD LIKE CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE 15Z-00Z TOMORROW EVENING TIME FRAME...WITH VISIBILITIES DROPPING TO AROUND A QUARTER OF A MILE AT TIMES POTENTIALLY. WSW WINDS OF 20 KNOTS GUSTING AT TIMES TO AROUND 35 KNOTS WILL HAMPER AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY ON SUNDAY. && .HYDROLOGY...(353 PM EST SAT DEC 20 2008) COLD AIR MEANS LITTLE OR NO RUNOFF AND MORE ICE FORMING ON RIVERS AND STREAMS. && .GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LM...GALE WARNING AND HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FROM ST. JOSEPH TO MANISTEE LATE TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. MI...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR WESTERN FORECAST AREA AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR EASTERN COUNTIES 5 AM SUNDAY TO 10 AM MONDAY. && SYNOPSIS: OSTUNO SHORT TERM: OSTUNO LONG TERM: MEADE MARINE: OSTUNO AVIATION: DUKE HYDROLOGY: OSTUNO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 611 AM EST SAT DEC 20 2008 MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-211115- MASON-LAKE-OSCEOLA-CLARE-OCEANA-NEWAYGO-MECOSTA-ISABELLA-MUSKEGON- MONTCALM-GRATIOT-OTTAWA-KENT-IONIA-CLINTON-ALLEGAN-BARRY-EATON- INGHAM-VAN BUREN-KALAMAZOO-CALHOUN-JACKSON- 611 AM EST SAT DEC 20 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW WILL BE ON THE INCREASE MAINLY AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. SEVERAL INCHES OF ACCUMULATION ARE POSSIBLE BY DAYBREAK SUNDAY...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE LAKESHORE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY WINDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE SUNDAY WITH GUSTS OVER 40 MPH POSSIBLE. THIS WILL COMBINE WITH THE FALLING SNOW TO CREATE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. VERY LOW VISIBILITIES ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ALONG AND WEST OF HIGHWAY 131. BANDS OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW ARE EXPECTED. SOME OF THE SNOW COULD BE HEAVY AT TIMES. WIND CHILL VALUES WILL BE BELOW ZERO. ANOTHER STORM COULD LEAD TO ACCUMULATING SNOW TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM COULD ARRIVE LATER THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY WITH SNOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED...BUT SNOWFALL REPORTS WOULD BE HELPFUL. LMZ844>849-211115- ST JOSEPH TO SOUTH HAVEN MI-SOUTH HAVEN TO HOLLAND MI- HOLLAND TO GRAND HAVEN MI-GRAND HAVEN TO WHITEHALL MI- WHITEHALL TO PENTWATER MI-PENTWATER TO MANISTEE MI- 611 AM EST SAT DEC 20 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WARNINGS HAVE BEEN POSTED FOR GALE FORCE WINDS AND HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY LATER TONIGHT. LOW VISIBILITIES DUE TO FALLING SNOW ARE FORECASTED. CONDITIONS WILL BE HAZARDOUS FOR SMALL CRAFT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE GALE FORCE WINDS AND FREEZING SPRAY WILL PERSIST INTO MONDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION LOW VISIBILITIES ARE EXPECTED DUE TO LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 winter storm, 5 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Six to ten inches of snow along with wind gusts to 45 mph was reported.
Four to eight inches of snow fell and was accompanied by wind gusts up to 40 mph.
Six to twelve inches of snow fell and was accompanied by wind gusts up to 45 mph.
Eight to twelve inches of snow was reported, accompanied by wind gusts to 45 mph.
Eight to twelve inches of snow was reported, accompanied by wind gusts to 45 mph.
Eight to twelve inches of snow was reported, accompanied by wind gusts to 45 mph.
Four to eight inches of snow fell and was accompanied by wind gusts up to 40 mph.
Six to ten inches of snow fell and wind gusts up to 45 mph were reported.
Four to eight inches of snow fell and was accompanied by wind gusts up to 35 mph.
Six to ten inches of snow along with wind gusts to 45 mph was reported.
Four to eight inches of snow fell and was accompanied by wind gusts up to 45 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 2008
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: 143065, 143074, 143073, 143062, 143063, 143064, 143071, 143067, 143069, 143066, 143075.