A northerly flow of colder air across Lake Superior in the wake of an Alberta clipper system brought heavy lake snow to portions of central Upper Michigan from the evening of the 19th through the evening of the 21st.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 northerly flow of colder air across Lake Superior in the wake of an Alberta clipper system brought heavy lake snow to portions of central Upper Michigan from the evening of the 19th through the evening of the 21st.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall totals during this period included 10 inches near Ishpeming and Carlshend, 14 inches in Negaunee and 17 inches at the National Weather Service in Negaunee Township.
Several schools were closed in Marquette County on the 20th due to the poor road conditions.
Storm total snow accumulation during the lake effect snow event included more than a foot of snow at both Rock and Cornell and 20 inches just northwest of Gladstone. The heavy snow forced the closure of schools in Escanaba and Gladstone on the 21st.
Storm total snowfall through the lake effect snow event included 12 inches near Chatham and 24 inches at Shingleton. Two to three inch per hour snowfall rates were reported at times from the intense lake effect snow bands. Several schools in Alger County were canceled on the 20th due to the poor road conditions.
South of Shingleton along the Alger County border...storm total snowfall was estimated at 12 to 18 inches.
A spotter near Manistique reported an estimated 12-hour snowfall amount of 8 inches with a storm total amount of 13 inches. There was also a public report of 5 to 6 inches in 12 hours at Germfask on the morning of the 21st. The heavy snow forced the closure of Manistique area schools on the 21st.
An observer seven miles north of Soo Junction measured a two-day snowfall total of 25 inches. Tahquamenon Area schools were closed on the 21st due to the heavy lake effect snowfall.
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, November 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 142726, 142734, 142728, 142736, 142742, 142745.