The last in a series of Alberta clipper systems was located near International Falls, Minnesota on the morning of the seventeenth. The low pressure system moved east southeast to Lake Huron by the eighteenth.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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.
The last in a series of Alberta clipper systems was located near International Falls, Minnesota on the morning of the seventeenth. The low pressure system moved east southeast to Lake Huron by the eighteenth. A broad area of mainly light snow associated with the clipper swept east across the area on the seventeenth, dropping two to five inches of snow.
However, a narrow north to south oriented lake effect snow band of moderate to heavy intensity developed along the coast north of Holland. It brought local amounts of ten to fifteen inches in six to twelve hours to portions of Muskegon, Oceana and Mason counties. The snow band apparently formed in an area of converging southeast winds over land and south winds over Lake Michigan. A disorganized area of lake enhanced snow shower activity then dropped another one to three inches of snow over the southwest counties on the eighteenth in northwest flow behind the clipper.
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 Jan 17, 4:02 AM EST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 402 AM EST SAT JAN 17 2009 LATEST UPDATE...ALL BUT AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS...(402 AM EST SAT JAN 17 2009) ANOTHER CLIPPER WILL PRODUCE 3 TO 7 INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHGIAN NORTH OF I-94 TODAY INTO TONIGHT. WIND CHILLS WILL SLOWLY IMPROVE TODAY AND TEMPERATURES WILL CLIMB INTO THE TEENS AGAIN TODAY. SNOW SHOWERS WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST THROUGH SUNDAY. A SLOW WARMING TREND WILL BOOST TEMPERATURES TO AROUND 30 BY NEXT THURSDAY BEFORE MORE ARCTIC AIR MOVES IN FOR THE WEEKEND. && .SHORT TERM...(402 AM EST SAT JAN 17 2009) FORECAST CONCERNS DEAL WITH THE SNOW POTENTIAL TODAY AND WIND CHILLS THIS MORNING. THE CLIPPER THAT WILL PRODUCE SNOW TODAY IS MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN MINNESOTA AT THIS TIME. SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE INCREASING AHEAD OF IT AND TEMPS ARE WELL OFF THEIR LOWS ALREADY. DESPITE THE RISING TEMPS...WINDS ARE INCREASING AND THAT IS HELPING TO MAINTAIN WIND CHILLS IN THE 15 TO 20 BELOW RANGE. AS A RESULT...WE EXTENDED THE WIND CHILL ADVISORY THROUGH LATE MORNING. SNOWFALL UPSTREAM ISN/T ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE YET...BUT THE SOUTHWEST WINDS ACROSS LAKE MICHIGAN CONTINUE TO PRIME THE ATMOSPHERE AND LIGHT SNOW IS FALLING OVER THE NW CWA. LOOK FOR A BOOST TO THE SYNOPTIC SNOWS WHEN THE SYSTEM GETS CLOSER TO THE LAKE. QPF ISN/T ALL THAT HIGH WITH THIS SYSTEM...BUT SNOW RATIOS AT OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE 20/1 SHOULD CREATE A FLUFFY SNOW THAT WILL ACCUMULATE A BIT MORE. USING A MIX OF MODEL QPF AND GFS SNOW RATIOS...THIS LOOKS TO BE A 5 TO 7 INCH SNOWFALL OVER THE NRN CWA IN ROUGHLY 18 HRS...WITH SOME ENHANCEMENT OVER THE 5 NW COUNTIES DUE TO LAKE EFFECT. BASED ON THAT WE ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH TONIGHT FOR THE NRN 1/2 OF THE CWA AND A WINTER WX ADVISORY JUST SOUTH OF THERE THROUGH THE LANSING AREA FOR 3 TO 5 INCHES. LAKE INFLUENCE EARLY IN THE EVENT WILL BE LESS EVIDENT OVER THE SRN CWA. BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS WILL VEER TO THE WNW LATE TODAY AS THE CLIPPER MOVES BY AND WE SHOULD SEE SOME LAKE EFFECT SNOWS DEVELOP THAT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SUNDAY. THE LES SHOULD DECREASE SUNDAY NIGHT AS NORTH FLOW DEVELOPS. FLURRIES EXPECTED MONDAY. NAM/GFS SHOW A WEAK WAVE QUICKLY FOLLOWING THE CLIPPER. THIS WILL HELP TO KEEP A GOOD DEAL OF TROUGHINESS AROUND THROUGH MONDAY. && .LONG TERM...(402 AM EST SAT JAN 17 2009) (MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY) THERE IS ABOVE NORMAL UNCERTAINTY IN THE FORECAST BEYOND WEDNESDAY. MOSTLY THAT IS DUE TO THAT VERY STRONG PACIFIC JET STREAK (THAT AT 18Z FRI THE EXTENDED FROM SOUTH OF JAPAN TO AROUND 150W NEAR 30N) AND HOW THE MODELS HANDLE ITS MOVING INTO THE MEAN UPPER RIDGE NEAR THE WEST COAST. THE UNCERTAINTY IS SEEN IN THE ENSEMBLES AND ALSO USING DPROG/TD. EACH MODEL AND EACH MODEL RUN (SEVERAL DAYS IN A ROW OF EACH MODEL RUN) HAVE A DIFFERENT SOLUTION FOR HOW THE NEXT PUSH OF ARCTIC AIR COMES IN LATE IN THE WEEK. WHAT DOES REMAIN THE SAME IS THE AIR THAT BRINGS THE NEXT PUSH OF COLD AIR IS FROM NORTHERN SIBERIA. AS TYPICAL OF THAT AREA...AIR TEMPERATURES AT THE SURFACE THERE YESTERDAY WERE FROM -35C TO -55C FROM THE REPORTING WEATHER STATIONS. ONCE THAT AIR GETS HERE... IT WOULD LIKELY BE EVERY BIT AS COLD AS WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW...MAYBE COLDER. THE QUESTION IS... WHEN AND HOW DOES IT GET HERE? OVERALL... THE GENERAL TREND I HAVE BEEN WRITING ABOUT REMAINS TRUE. THAT IS... THE POLAR JET MOVES EAST OF LOWER MICHIGAN WEDNESDAY. THAT IS THANKS TO THAT EAST ASIAN JET PUSHING THE WESTERN RIDGE EAST FOR A SHORT TIME. UNTIL THEN THOUGH...NORTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVES WILL CONTINUE TO DIVE SOUTH... ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE UPPER RIDGE. THAT WILL KEEP THE OCCASIONAL LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS AND COLDER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN UNTIL WEDNESDAY (NOT AS COLD AS IT HAS BEEN THIS WEEK). 850 MB TEMPERATURES...THE DGZ AND LIFT IN THE CLOUDS ALL REMAIN FAVORABLE THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT FOR LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS. WHILE I HAVE LOW POPS IN THE GRIDS... I REALLY BELIEVE THAT IF YOU LIVE WEST OF US-131... YOU WILL SEE SNOW MONDAY INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE WARM FRONT PUSH WEDNESDAY MAY BRING SOME SNOW WITH IT BUT THERE IS LITTLE DEEP MOISTURE TO WORK WITH SO THAT IS QUESTIONABLE. BEYOND THAT THERE ARE PHASING ISSUES WITH THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STREAM. IT IS ANYONES GUESS HOW THIS PLAYS OUT. && .MARINE...(402 AM EST SAT JAN 17 2009) SOUTHWEST WINDS TO 30 KNOTS WILL KEEP WAVES WELL OVER 4 FEET TODAY. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL BECOME NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 KNOTS THIS AFTERNOON BUT WAVES WILL REMAIN AOA 4 FEET THROUGH TONIGHT. && .AVIATION...(1230 AM EST SAT JAN 17 2009) MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT...ALTHOUGH SOME MVFR STRATOCU CONTINUES TO POUR OFF THE LAKE INTO KMKG. HIGH CLOUDS WILL SPREAD IN FROM THE NORTHWEST OVERNIGHT...WITH SNOW MOVING IN TOWARD DAYBREAK IN WEST CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN. SNOW WILL IMPACT ALL TAF SITES THE BULK OF THE DAY ON SATURDAY. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL OCCUR AT KMKG...AND NOT BE AS HEAVY TOWARD KJXN. IFR CONDITIONS WILL BE FAIRLY PERSISTENT DURING THE DAY...TRYING TO IMPROVE SOME OVERNIGHT. ALTHOUGH...LAKE EFFECT WILL KICK IN AND CONTINUE AT LEAST THROUGH 06Z. && .HYDROLOGY...(402 AM EST SAT JAN 17 2009) ICE JAMS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT AREA RIVERS DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS...ESPECIALLY ON THE MUSKEGON RIVER NEAR EVART WHERE AN ICE JAM IS CAUSING THE MUSKEGON RIVER TO REMAIN JUST BELOW FLOOD STAGE. WITH CONTINUED SUB FREEZING TEMPERATURES EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...ANYONE LIVING NEAR RIVERS SHOULD KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR ICE JAMS AND POTENTIAL RAPID FLUCTUATIONS ON THE RIVER. && .GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH TONIGHT NORTH OF A MUSKEGON TO ALMA LINE. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT FOR OTTAWA KENT IONIA CLINTON EATON AND INGHAM COUNTIES. WIND CHILL ADVISORY THIS MORNING FOR ALL COUNTIES BUT MASON OCEANA AND MUSKEGON COUNTIES. LM...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM ST JOSEPH TO MANISTEE THROUGH TONIGHT. && SYNOPSIS: 93 SHORT TERM: 93 LONG TERM: WDM MARINE: 93 AVIATION: DUKE HYDROLOGY: 93
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 400 PM EST FRI JAN 16 2009 MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-172100- MASON-LAKE-OSCEOLA-CLARE-OCEANA-NEWAYGO-MECOSTA-ISABELLA-MUSKEGON- MONTCALM-GRATIOT-OTTAWA-KENT-IONIA-CLINTON-ALLEGAN-BARRY-EATON- INGHAM-VAN BUREN-KALAMAZOO-CALHOUN-JACKSON- 400 PM EST FRI JAN 16 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT WIND CHILLS OF 15 TO 20 BELOW ZERO WILL BE ALONG AREAS FROM KALAMAZOO TO JACKSON OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY HEAVY SNOW IS POSSIBLE ACROSS AREAS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 94 ON SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. SNOW IS ALSO POSSIBLE MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. LMZ844>849-172100- 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- 400 PM EST FRI JAN 16 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT WINDS AND WAVES WILL POSE A HAZARD TO SMALL CRAFT TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WINDS AND WAVES WILL POSE A HAZARD TO SMALL CRAFT SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Localized snow amounts of up to fifteen inches were reported, accompanied by blowing snow and wind gusts to 25 mph.
Localized snow amounts of up to fifteen inches were reported, accompanied by blowing snow and wind gusts to 25 mph.
Localized snow amounts of up to fifteen inches were reported, accompanied by blowing snow and wind gusts to 25 mph.
Four to eight inches of snow was reported, with snowfall rates reaching one to two inches per hour. Wind gusts to 20 mph also resulted in blowing snow.
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, January 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: 147191, 147192, 147193, 147194.