Michigan, 2009

Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 8 to 9, 2009

January 8 to 9, 2009 · NWS APX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Cold northwesterly winds off of Lake Michigan produced locally heavy lake effect snow in Northwest Lower Michigan. Bellaire, Mancelona, and Kalkaska picked up 6 to 8 inches of snow, mostly during the evening hours of the 8th.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS APX wrote it up.

Cold northwesterly winds off of Lake Michigan produced locally heavy lake effect snow in Northwest Lower Michigan. Bellaire, Mancelona, and Kalkaska picked up 6 to 8 inches of snow, mostly during the evening hours of the 8th.

What forecasters said that day

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 Gaylord, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 7, 6:25 PM EST, 20 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 6:25 PM EST, 20 hours 35 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 7, 3:35 PM EST, 23 hours 25 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Lake-Effect Snow, Antrim

When
January 8, 3:00 PM EST to January 9, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Antrim forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.007, -85.176 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake-Effect Snow, Kalkaska

When
January 8, 3:00 PM EST to January 9, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Kalkaska forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.685, -85.090 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lake-Effect Snow
Heavy snow in bands downwind of a large lake as cold air crosses warmer water.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Michigan in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, January 2009

Sources

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: 148546, 148547.