A weak low pressure system tracking northeast from Iowa moved across Lake Michigan on Monday December 7th, producing a localized lake enhanced band of snow which impacted northern parts of Muskegon and southern parts of Oceana counties.
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 GRR wrote it up.
A weak low pressure system tracking northeast from Iowa moved across Lake Michigan on Monday December 7th, producing a localized lake enhanced band of snow which impacted northern parts of Muskegon and southern parts of Oceana counties.
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 7, 12:20 AM EST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1220 AM EST MON DEC 7 2009 LATEST UPDATE...AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS...(356 PM EST SUN DEC 6 2009) LIGHT SNOW WILL BE ACROSS AREAS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 96 TONIGHT BUT ONLY LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS OF AN INCH OR TWO AREA EXPECTED WITH PERHAPS ANOTHER INCH ON MONDAY AS WEAK LOW PRESSURE MOVES ALONG A STALLED FRONT. THEN ALL EYES TURN TO THE SOUTHWEST WHERE A WINTER STORM WILL BE GATHERING BY TUESDAY. THIS STORM WILL BRING HIGH WINDS AND HEAVY SNOW OR MIXED PRECIPITATION FOR THE WEDNESDAY MORNING COMMUTE. THEN LAKE EFFECT SNOW COMBINED WITH 40 MPH WIND GUSTS COULD IMPEDE TRAVEL WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. && .SHORT TERM...(356 PM EST SUN DEC 6 2009) (TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT) FORECAST ISSUES IN THE NEAR TERM ARE FOR LIGHT SNOW TONIGHT AND HEAVY SNOW POTENTIAL TUESDAY NIGHT. FOR TONIGHT...AREA OF LIGHT SNOW WAY BACK ACROSS WESTERN IOWA ASSOCIATED F-GEN FORCING AND THIS WILL TRANSLATE EAST ALONG AND NORTH OF THE PATH OF THE WEAK SFC LOW THAT WILL BE MOVING ALONG THE STATIONARY FRONT NOW DRAPED OVER OUR NORTHERN FORECAST AREA. THIS FRONT IS ALSO PROVIDING SOME LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE AND ENHANCING THE FEW REMAINING LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES. DECIDED TO KEEP LOW CHANCE POPS UP NORTH FOR THIS EVENING TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. THE DEEPER MOISTURE AND BETTER LIFT ARRIVES AFTER 06Z...AND WITH SOME LAKE ENHANCEMENT...SHOULD SEE LIGHT ACCUMS ACROSS ROUGHLY THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA BETWEEN 06Z AND 18Z MONDAY. MADE ONLY SLIGHT TWEAKS TO CURRENT SNOW GRIDS FOR THIS PERIOD...WITH ABOUT 2 INCHES OF ACCUMS FROM NORTH OF MKG TO RQB AND OVER TO MOP. ONCE THIS WEAK SYSTEM MOVES EAST BY MONDAY NIGHT...THERE SHOULD BE A LULL IN THE ACTION UNTIL TUESDAY NIGHT WHEN DEEP MOISTURE ARRIVES AND ISENTROPIC ASCENT INCREASES ASSOCIATED WITH MAJOR SOUTHERN PLAINS CYCLONE. TRACK OF THE LOW HAS BEEN PRETTY CONSISTENTLY HANDLED BY THE GFS AND EXPECT HEAVY SNOW TO MOVE FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE EVENING. MIX TO SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SOUTH AFTER 06Z WEDNESDAY AS SEEN IN GFS THERMAL PROFILES. DRY SLOT MAY ALSO BE AN ISSUE ACROSS THE SOUTH...BUT PROBABLY NOT UNTIL BEYOND 12Z WEDNESDAY. && .LONG TERM...(356 PM EST SUN DEC 6 2009) (WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY) THE MID RANGE MODELS CONTINUE TO TRACK A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES REGION EARLY WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE 12Z GFS HAS A LOW OF 984 MB DEEPENING TO 986 MB AS IT MOVES FROM GARY INDIANA TO EASTERN LAKE HURON. THE 12Z ECMWF HAS THE LOW DEEPENING FROM 980 MB TO 970 MB AS IT MOVES FROM SOUTH OF GARY INDIANA TO CENTRAL LAKE HURON. PRECIPITATION MAY BE IN THE FORM OF RAIN... ICE PELLETS OR SNOW ACROSS SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN WEDNESDAY MORNING AS A WARM WEDGE MOVES THROUGH. THIS WILL LIMIT THE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS THE SOUTH. A GOOD PRESSURE GRADIENT AND CYCLONIC FLOW AS COLD AIR FLOWS IN BEHIND THE SYSTEM WILL KICK UP LAKE EFFECT SNOWS BEHIND THIS SYSTEM OVERNIGHT WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THE MODELS THEN SHOW SPLIT FLOW AROUND AN AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE THAT BUILDS INTO THE CENTER OF THE CONTINENT. LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS WILL MOVE BY TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE AREA LATE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. COLD AIR WILL CONTINUE TO FLOW ACROSS LAKE MICHIGAN AND LIGHT LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS AND FLURRIES WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE. TEMPERATURES IN THE LONG TERM WILL BE MOSTLY BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR WITH A FEW PERIODS NEAR NORMAL. NORMAL HIGHS ARE IN THE MID 30S AND NORMAL LOWS ARE IN THE LOWER 20S. && .AVIATION...(1220 AM EST MON DEC 7 2009) VFR CONDITIONS STILL IN PLACE ACROSS MOST OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN...INCLUDING ALL THE TAF SITES. WEAK LOW PRESSURE IN MISSOURI WILL DRIFT OUR DIRECTION THE NEXT 12 HOURS...SPREADING SNOW INTO THE REGION...ESPECIALLY ACROSS CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN. CONTINUED TO PLACE THE WORST CONDITIONS AT KMKG. BURST OF SNOW OVER ILLINOIS IS FORECAST TO WEAKEN WITH TIME OVERNIGHT AND DRIFT INTO INDIANA...VIA THE HRRR RUC MODEL. RAN WITH THAT IDEA STILL AND WE WILL SEE HOW IT PLAYS OUT. DID BRING SOME MVFR CEILINGS INTO MOST TAF SITES MONDAY AFTERNOON AS THE SWATH OF LOWER CEILINGS TO THE WEST IS PRETTY HARD TO IGNORE. && .MARINE...(356 PM EST SUN DEC 6 2009) OFFSHORE FLOW AND DECREASING WAVES TONIGHT. BIG STORM FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH GALES LIKELY WEDNESDAY NIGHT...MAYBE STORM FORCE WIND GUSTS. && .HYDROLOGY...(356 PM EST SUN DEC 6 2009) NO HYDRO ISSUES AT LEAST THROUGH TUESDAY. STILL LOOKS LIKE WEDNESDAY STORM WILL BE MORE SNOW OR MIXED PRECIP THAN RAIN. STAY TUNED. && .GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...NONE. LM...NONE. && SYNOPSIS: OSTUNO SHORT TERM: OSTUNO LONG TERM: IOD AVIATION: DUKE MARINE: OSTUNO HYDROLOGY: OSTUNO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 927 AM EST SUN DEC 6 2009 MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-071100- MASON-LAKE-OSCEOLA-CLARE-OCEANA-NEWAYGO-MECOSTA-ISABELLA-MUSKEGON- MONTCALM-GRATIOT-OTTAWA-KENT-IONIA-CLINTON-ALLEGAN-BARRY-EATON- INGHAM-VAN BUREN-KALAMAZOO-CALHOUN-JACKSON- 927 AM EST SUN DEC 6 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LIGHT LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TODAY NORTH OF A LINE FROM MUSKEGON TO MOUNT PLEASANT. ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT...MOSTLY AN INCH OR LESS. ANOTHER INCH OR TWO OF SNOW IS EXPECTED TONIGHT ALONG AND NORTH OF ROUTE 10 AS A CLIPPER TYPE STORM MOVES THROUGH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AN UNUSUALLY STRONG WINTER STORM WILL HEAD FOR THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES WEDNESDAY AND DEPART THROUGH NORTHERN LAKE HURON THURSDAY. AS TYPICAL OF THESE TYPES OF STORMS...TRACK WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT AS TO WHERE THE RAIN / SNOW LINE. LOCATIONS NORTH OF THE STORMS TRACK MY WELL SEE OVER HALF A FOOT OF SNOW WEDNESDAY. CLOSE TO THE STORM TRACK FREEZING RAIN...SLEET AND WET SNOW ARE EXPECTED. ONCE THE STORM HEADS NORTHEAST THROUGH LAKE HURON WEDNESDAY NIGHT... THE COLDEST AIR OF THE SEASON WILL RUSH IN BEHIND THE STORM. NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS MAY WELL DEVELOP BY LATE EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY THURSDAY. WINDS COULD GUST TO NEAR 50 MPH AT TIMES LATER WEDNESDAY EVENING INTO THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. LMZ844>849-071100- 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- 927 AM EST SUN DEC 6 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDS ARE EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY STRONG LOW PRESSURE MOVING THROUGH ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WILL BRING GALE OR EVEN STORM FORCE WINDS. LOW VISIBILITIES ARE EXPECTED IN SNOW AND BLOWING SPRAY. WDM OSTUNO
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Five to seven inches of snow fell across southern portions of Oceana county.
Five to seven inches of snow fell across northern portions of Muskegon county.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 2009
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: 208959, 208960.