An Alberta Clipper produced six to ten inches of snow across southwestern lower Michigan from the early morning hours of February the twenty first through the early morning hours of February the twenty second. A fifty car accident closed Interstate 94 for several hours during the morning of the twenty first during a period of heavy snow and near zero visibilities.
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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.
An Alberta Clipper produced six to ten inches of snow across southwestern lower Michigan from the early morning hours of February the twenty first through the early morning hours of February the twenty second. A fifty car accident closed Interstate 94 for several hours during the morning of the twenty first during a period of heavy snow and near zero visibilities.
The clipper system was located over the northwest corner of South Dakota on the morning of February the twentieth. It moved southeast and then east across lower Michigan and then to the northeast side of Lake Huron by the morning of February 22nd.
Snow overspread the region from southwest to northeast during the morning of the twenty first with snowfall rates of one to one and a half inches per hour. By late afternoon, moderate to heavy snow was falling north of the I-96 corridor. As the low moved into central lower Michigan, lake enhanced wrap around snow developed over far southwestern lower Michigan southwest of Grand Rapids.
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 Feb 21, 4:34 AM EST, 2 hours 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 434 AM EST SAT FEB 21 2009 LATEST UPDATE...ALL SECTIONS EXCEPT AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS...(434 AM EST SAT FEB 21 2009) AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CENTERED ACROSS ILLINOIS EARLY THIS MORNING WILL MOVE NORTHEAST THROUGH THE DAY TODAY. THIS SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO TRACK ACROSS SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. A BAND OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THIS AREA THIS MORNING. SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY...WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS EXPECTED NORTH OF INTERSTATE 96. THIS SYSTEM WILL MOVE OUT OF THE AREA TONIGHT...AND ALLOW ANOTHER SURGE OF COLDER AIR TO MOVE IN. THIS WILL HELP TO PRODUCE LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS FOR MAINLY LAKESHORE AREAS THROUGH THE DAY ON SUNDAY. A MODERATION IN TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED INTO MID WEEK ALONG WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW. COLDER AIR IS EXPECTED TO MOVE IN ONCE AGAIN NEXT WEEKEND. && .SHORT TERM...(434 AM EST SAT FEB 21 2009) (TODAY THROUGH MONDAY) WE HAVE EXPANDED THE WINTER STORM WARNING TO NOW INCLUDE THE ENTIRE CWFA FOR THE DAY TODAY. NOT MUCH CHANGE IN THINKING REGARDING THE WINTER STORM MOVING INTO THE AREA FOR TODAY. GFS IS SLOWLY BUT SURELY TRENDING TOWARD THE OTHER MODEL SOLUTIONS IN CLOSING OFF THE MID LEVEL LOW A BIT QUICKER...AND DRIVING THE ASSOCIATED SFC LOW ACROSS SRN LOWER LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THE REMAINDER OF THE MODELS HAVE SHIFTED THE TRACK OF THE MID LEVEL LOW AND SFC LOW A TAD TOWARD THE NW...WHICH IS THE REASON FOR EXPANDING THE WARNING THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE CWFA. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW 1.5 TO 2.5 G/KG MIXING RATIOS MOVING INTO THE CWFA AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM. STRONG FGEN AT THE NOSE OF THE WAA/ISENTROPIC ASCENT OVER IL IS VERY EVIDENT ON THE REGIONAL RADAR WITH A HEALTHY BAND OF SNOW OVER IL MOVING TOWARD THE CWFA. THIS BAND WILL BE THE INITIAL BURST OF SNOW WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. THIS WILL TRANSITION INTO THE TROWAL/DEFORMATION OF THE CLOSED MID LEVEL LOW LATER THIS MORNING AND EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THE DRY SLOT WITH THE UPPER SYSTEM WILL THEN PUNCH INTO THE CWFA FROM THE SW MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. THIS IS EXPECTED TO LIMIT SNOW TOTALS...ESPECIALLY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM SOUTH HAVEN TO LANSING. WE BELIEVE THAT AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THIS LINE WILL BE HARD PRESSED TO SEE WARNING CRITERIA FROM A STORM TOTAL PERSPECTIVE. WE DO BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL BE A STRONG BURST OF SNOW INITIALLY THIS MORNING THAT WILL MEET THE LOCALLY IMPACT BASED CRITERIA OF GREATER THAN AN INCH PER HOUR SNOW RATES FOR MULTIPLE HOURS. FOR THIS REASON WE HAVE MAINTAINED THE WARNING FOR THIS AREA...HOWEVER WE HAVE PARED DOWN SNOW AMOUNTS TO 4 TO 6 INCHES. AREAS FURTHER NORTH WILL ALSO SEE THE STRONG BURST OF SNOW THIS MORNING. THEY WILL ALSO REMAIN UNDER DEEPER MOISTURE THROUGHOUT THE DAY AS THE DRY SLOT REMAINS JUST SOUTH. WITH THE DRY SLOT NEARBY...NRN AREAS WILL SEE THE FGEN FORCING NEAR THE DRY SLOT...ALONG WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR CONVECTIVE ELEMENTS IN THE FAVORED LOCATION AT THE NOSE OF THE DRY SLOT. THUNDER CAN NOT BE RULED OUT WITHIN THIS FAVORED REGION NEAR THE DRY SLOT. WE BELIEVE THAT THE AREA THAT WILL BE IN THE SWEET SPOT NEAR THE PIVOT POINT WILL BE LOCATIONS NEAR A MUSKEGON TO CLARE/MOUNT PLEASANT LINE. SOME LOCAL ACCUMULATIONS OF AROUND 10 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH WIDESPREAD 4 TO 8 INCHES EXPECTED. SYSTEM WILL MOVE OUT BY MID EVENING...AND ALLOW THE FLOW TO BECOME NNW ACROSS THE AREA. WINDS WILL INCREASE AS COLDER AIR WILL ONCE AGAIN POUR INTO THE AREA. IT APPEARS AS IF COLD ENOUGH TEMPS WILL BE IN PLACE AS THE SYSTEM MOVES OUT FOR LAKE EFFECT TO DEVELOP FAIRLY QUICKLY. THE FAVORED AREAS FOR LAKE EFFECT WILL BE THE NRN TWO AND SRN TWO LAKESHORE COUNTIES. H850 TEMPS ARE EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 13C TO -15C AND MOISTURE DEPTH WILL BE A RESPECTABLE 10K+ FEET. ANOTHER FACTOR THAT WILL LEAD TO DECENT LAKE EFFECT WILL BE GOOD LIFT IN THE DGZ. WE HAVE ALLOWED FOR A FEW INCHES OF SNOW TONIGHT AND SUNDAY FOR THE FAVORED AREAS. DEPENDING ON THE TIME BETWEEN THE SYNOPTIC SNOW AND LAKE EFFECT...FUTURE SHIFTS MAY HAVE TO EXTEND THE HEADLINES FOR THE LAKESHORE TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS LAKE EFFECT POTENTIAL. AREAS INLAND WILL ONLY SEE VERY LIGHT AMOUNTS OF SNOW IF ANY AT ALL AFTER THE SYSTEM TODAY. CYCLONIC FLOW ALOFT WILL TRANSITION TO ANTI-CYCLONIC ACROSS MOST OF THE CWFA BY 00Z MON. THIS WILL BRING AN END TO THE POTENTIAL OF SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS. A FEW SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL REMAIN SUN NIGHT. EVEN THESE SHOULD COME TO AN END ON MON AS SFC RIDGING MOVES OVERHEAD. && .LONG TERM...(434 AM EST SAT FEB 21 2009) (MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY) THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW IS PROGGED TO BE RELATIVELY FLAT THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK WHICH IMPLIES GENERALLY BENIGN WEATHER. THINGS DO CHANGE HOWEVER TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK AS THE NRN STREAM IS PROGGED TO DIP SOUTHWARD FROM CANADA INTO THE NRN CONUS. SURFACE RIDGE WILL BE PASSING EAST ACROSS THE REGION MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY YIELDING DRY WEATHER... THEN A RETURN FLOW SETS UP TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE HIGH. WEAK H5 SHORTWAVE AND SURFACE TROUGH COMBINED WITH THE WARM ADVECTION MAY CREATE A LIGHT MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW... BUT MORE APPRECIABLE PCPN AMOUNTS APPEAR POSSIBLE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY AS THE NEXT SYSTEM TRACKS NE FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS IN ADVANCE OF THE DIGGING NRN STREAM TROUGH. IT CURRENTLY LOOKS LIKE COLD AIR AND LAKE EFFECT SNOW CAN BE EXPECTED FOR NEXT WEEKEND BEHIND THAT SYSTEM. && .AVIATION...(1150 PM EST FRI FEB 20 2009) LOW STRATUS AND SNOW ARRIVE BETWEEN 09Z AND 11Z...BRINGING IFR CONDITIONS FOR THE LATE MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON. SOME IMPROVEMENT POSSIBLE BY SATURDAY EVENING AS HEAVIER SNOW MOVES OUT BUT LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS TO FOLLOW SATURDAY NIGHT. && .HYDROLOGY...(434 AM EST SAT FEB 21 2009) RIVER LEVELS SHOULD CONTINUE TO GRADUALLY FALL WITH NO RUNOFF EXPECTED TO MAKE IT INTO THE RIVERS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS WITH COLD TEMPERATURES EXPECTED. SOME ICE JAMS COULD CAUSE SOME LOCAL ISSUES. THE ROGERS HEIGHTS AREA IN MECOSTA COUNTY IS EXPERIENCING SOME FLOODING AS AN ICE JAM IS CAUSING WATER LEVELS TO RISE UPSTREAM. SOME RUNOFF WILL GET INTO THE RIVER SYSTEM NEXT WEEK AS TEMPERATURES WARM ABOVE FREEZING AND SOME MELTING WILL OCCUR. && .GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE ENTIRE CWFA THROUGH 7 PM THIS EVENING. LM...NONE. && SYNOPSIS: NJJ SHORT TERM: NJJ LONG TERM: MEADE AVIATION: OSTUNO HYDROLOGY: NJJ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 515 AM EST SAT FEB 21 2009 LMZ844>849-MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-220945- 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-MASON-LAKE- OSCEOLA-CLARE-OCEANA-NEWAYGO-MECOSTA-ISABELLA-MUSKEGON-MONTCALM- GRATIOT-OTTAWA-KENT-IONIA-CLINTON-ALLEGAN-BARRY-EATON-INGHAM- VAN BUREN-KALAMAZOO-CALHOUN-JACKSON- 515 AM EST SAT FEB 21 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WIDESPREAD SNOW WILL IMPACT THE AREA TODAY AND IT WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR ARE POSSIBLE... WITH STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS RANGING FROM 4 INCHES ALONG THE INTERSTATE 94 CORRIDOR TO 5 TO 9 INCHES FARTHER NORTH. THE HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH THIS AFTERNOON SOUTH OF A LINE FROM SOUTH HAVEN TO LANSING... THEN OVER THE REST OF THE AREA THIS EVENING. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS FROM LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE TONIGHT WEST OF HIGHWAY 131. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL ALSO DEVELOP AS NORTHWEST WINDS INCREASE ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE DEPARTING SYSTEM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS WILL BRING ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT WEST OF HIGHWAY 131. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED... BUT SNOWFALL REPORTS WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. MEADE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Up to ten inches of snow fell across portions of Allegan county.
Eight inches of snow fell across portions of Van Buren county.
Up to ten inches of snow fell across portions of Kalamazoo county.
Snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times were reported and up to seven inches of snow fell.
Eight inches of snow was reported along with snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times.
Snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times were reported and up to seven inches of snow fell.
Snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times were reported and up to six inches of snow fell.
Snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times were reported and up to six inches of snow fell.
Snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times were reported and up to eight inches of snow fell.
Eight inches of snow was reported along with snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times.
Seven inches of snow was reported along with snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times.
Seven inches of snow was reported along with snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times.
Seven inches of snow was reported along with snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour at times.
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, February 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: 153169, 153170, 153171, 151498, 151493, 151494, 151495, 151496, 151497, 151488, 151489, 151490, 151491.