Colder air in the wake of a frontal passage generated briefly heavy lake effect snow over eastern Marquette and Alger County from the afternoon of the 22nd continuing into the early morning of the 23rd.
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 MQT wrote it up.
Colder air in the wake of a frontal passage generated briefly heavy lake effect snow over eastern Marquette and Alger County from the afternoon of the 22nd continuing into the early morning of the 23rd.
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 Marquette, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 22, 3:31 PM EST, 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 331 PM EST THU DEC 22 2011 .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT AND FRIDAY/... NW BLYR WINDS WITH TEMPS AT INVERISON TOP OF H85 AOB -15C LEADING TO LK EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS ALONG ROUGHLY THE WEST TWO-THIRDS OF UPR MI NEAR LK SUPERIOR. VWP INDICATES DEPTH OF LK EFFET IS 5-6KFT...BUT SHEAR IN LOWEST 1KFT IS PROHIBITING MUCH IN WAY OF BANDED STRUCTURE. FOR MOST PART...LES HAS TAKEN FORM OF AREAS OF SNOW REORIENTING IN DIFFERENT PLACES THROUGHOUT THE DAY. NRLY BLYR WINDS PROHIBITING MUCH LES EAST OF GRAND MARAIS PER OBS AND CANADIAN RADAR LOOP. AS WINDS IN BLYR BACK MORE WESTERLY THIS EVENING AS HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE BRIEFLY MOVES ACROSS...LES SHOULD AFFECT AREAS EAST OF MARQUETTE TO NEWBERRY. SINCE MAJORITY OF CLOUD LAYER IS WITHIN IDEAL DENDRITIC GROWTH ZONE (DGZ) COULD SEE ANOTHER INCH OR TWO OF FLUFFY SNOW FOR SNOWBELTS OF ALGER/NORTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT THIS EVENING. AFTER MIDNIGHT...EXPECT LES TO END AS WINDS BACK SW PUSHING THE SNOW SHOWERS OFFSHORE. STILL WILL KEEP WITH IDEA OF TEMPS OVR INLAND WEST CRASHING OVERNIGHT ONCE FLOW OFF LK CEASES...ESPECIALLY ONCE 925MB WINDS BECOME OFFSHORE. COULD SEE LOWS TOWARD ZERO IN SHELTERED INTERIOR LOCATIONS WITH ENOUGH CLEARING GIVEN PWAT AOB 50 PCT OF NORMAL MOVING ACROSS UPR LAKES. ATTN TOWARD DAYBREAK ON FRIDAY TURNS TO STRONG SHORTWAVE SLIDING SE OUT OF SOUTHERN MANITOBA. COMPACT SHORTWAVE/VORTICITY MAX IS FCST TO SLIDE OVER WEST HALF OF UPR MI...AND PERHAPS EVEN INTO NORTHERN WI. MODELS HAVE TRENDED FARTHER WEST WITH THIS WAVE COMPARED TO A COUPLE DAYS AGO WHICH MAKES SENSE BASED ON SHARP LOOK TO WAVE ON WV LOOP THIS AFTN. SFC LOW WITH SYSTEM NOT TOO STRONG...ROUGHLY AROUND 1015MB. EVEN SO...BRIEF PERIOD OF 700-500MB Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE WITH THE WAVE AND ISENTROPIC ASCENT ON 280K SFC /H8-H7/ SHOULD ALLOW SOME LGT SNOW FOR ALL AREAS ON FRIDAY. 12Z NAM LOOKS PRETTY SIMILAR TO GFS/ECMWF/CANADIAN SO RELYED ON ITS OUTPUT AND ALSO THAT OF HIGHER RESOLUTION MODELS THAT ARE INITIALIZED OFF THE NAM /LOCAL WRF-ARW AND NCEP WRF-ARW/WRF-NMM. MOSTLY THIS LED TO MAJORITY OF SNOW FALLING AFTER 15Z FRIDAY AND ENDING MOSTLY BY 00Z SATURDAY. TOTAL SNOW AMOUNTS SHOULD GENERALLY END UP LESS THAN 1 INCH. LK SUPERIOR SHORE OVR MARQUETTE AND ALGER COUNTY COULD SEE JUST A COATING AS DOWNSLOPE SWLY WINDS AND LINGERING DRY AIR BLO H85 EAT AWAY AT SNOW THROUGH THE DAY. THE MOST SNOW WILL OCCUR OVR KEWEENAW AND ALSO FAR SE CWA CLOSER TO LK MICHIGAN WHERE LOW-LEVEL WINDS ARE ONSHORE AND THERE COULD BE ENHANCEMENT TO THE SNOW DUE TO THE FLUXES OFF THE LAKES. EVEN IN THOSE AREAS...QUICK MOVING NATURE OF SYSTEM WILL LIMIT SNOWFALL TO A FEW INCHES. WINDS SHOULD NOT BE TOO BIG OF DEAL WITH THE SYSTEM...BUT IT COULD BE GUSTY OVR TIP OF KEWEENAW IN AFTN WITH WSW WINDS. BLEND OF BIAS CORRECTED NAM/REGIONAL CANADIAN USED FOR TEMPS WHICH RESULTED IN HIGHS IN THE 20S FOR MAJORITY OF CWA. .LONG TERM 00Z SAT ONWARD... NAM SHOWS A 500 MB TROUGH ON THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES 00Z SAT WHICH WILL AFFECT THE AREA ON SAT WITH MORE ENERGY AFFECTING THE AREA SAT NIGHT. NAM BRINGS IN SOME 850-500 MB Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE AND MOISTURE ON SAT AND ALSO FOR LATE SAT NIGHT INTO SUN. ECMWF AND GFS SHOW THE SAME THING AS WELL. SYSTEM SNOW PULLS OUT FRI NIGHT WITH DRY SW LOW LEVEL FLOW FOR SAT...SO HAVE NO POPS FOR SAT. WITH NEXT SYSTEM COMING IN LATE SAT NIGHT INTO SUNDAY...HAVE POPS IN THE FORECAST WITH COLDER AIR ARRIVING ON SUNDAY. THIS WILL KICK UP THE LAKE EFFECT SNOW AGAIN AS NW WINDS BRING 850 MB TEMPERATURES DOWN TO -10C. WITH LAKE TEMPERATURES AROUND 5C...THIS IS ENOUGH FOR LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS. BUMPED POPS UP TO LIKELY LATE SUNDAY IN THE EAST AS WINDS BECOME NORTHWEST IN THE AFTERNOON AND LOOKED LIKE A GOOD SHOT AT SOME LAKE EFFECT SNOW THERE. OVERALL...DID NOT MAKE TOO MANY CHANGES TO THE GOING FORECAST. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO STAY ABOVE NORMAL WITH FAIRLY QUIET WEATHER. IN THE EXTENDED...ECMWF AND GFS SHOW A 500 MB TROUGH OVER THE UPPER GREAT LAKES WITH THE PACIFIC NW ALSO HAVING A TROUGH...A RIDGE OVER THE ROCKIES AND A TROUGH ACROSS MEXICO INTO TX 12Z SUN. RIDGING THEN COMES IN FOR 12Z MON. ANOTHER TROUGH THEN COMES IN FOR 12Z TUE AND THE TROUGHING STAYS THROUGH THE END OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST. TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO LOOK WARM AND ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE EXTENDED FORECAST WITH NO REAL BIG STORMS AFFECTING THE AREA. THERE WILL ALSO BE A FEW PERIODS WHERE THERE WILL BE LAKE EFFECT SNOW OR SYSTEM SNOW AS COLD FRONTS AND WEAK SYSTEMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. WILL GO WITH LOW CHANCE POPS WHEN THAT OCCURS. LOOKS DRY FOR LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE IS IN THE AREA. && .AVIATION /FOR THE 18Z TAF ISSUANCE/... COLD AIR SPILLING SOUTH ACROSS LAKE SUPERIOR WILL LEAD TO LIGHT LAKE EFFECT SNOW FOR A GOOD PORTION OF THE DAYTIME AT AT ALL OF THE TAF SITES. MOSTLY EXPECT MVFR CONDITIONS...BUT HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS COULD RESULT IN IFR VSBY AT TIMES...MAINLY AT CMX AND SAW. EXPECT A DIMINISHING TREND TO THE SNOW LATE THIS AFTN AND THROUGH THE NIGHT...AS SFC RIDGE MOVES INTO THE AREA AND DRIER AIR ARRIVES. DID LEAVE MVFR CIGS AT KCMX SINCE WINDS ROTATING TO THE SW WOULD STILL BE FAVORABLE FOR LINGERING LES. WIDESPREAD SYSTEM SNOW WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT ALL TAF SITES LATE FRIDAY MORNING. EXPECT IFR CONDITIONS THROUGH MUCH OF FRIDAY AFTN. && .MARINE /FOR THE 4 PM LAKE SUPERIOR FORECAST ISSUANCE/... NW WINDS DIMINISH THIS EVENING...THEN CLIPPER SYSTEM IS FCST TO SLIDE ACROSS UPR LAKES ON FRIDAY. EXPECT SW WINDS TO 30 KTS WITH THE SYSTEM...WITH A FEW GALE FORCE GUSTS OVER WRN LAKE SUPERIOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON. GALES NOT FREQUENT OR WIDESPREAD ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY ISSUING GALE WARNING. THE PATTERN OF LOWS MOVING THROUGH CANADA AND SWEEPING TROUGHS ACROSS LAKE SUPERIOR WILL CONTINUE INTO THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK. TROUGHS WILL AFFECT LK SUPERIOR ON SAT/SAT NIGHT AND AGAIN ON MONDAY. DURING THE PASSAGE OF TROUGHS...EXPECT SW-NW WINDS UP TO 30 KTS. BEST POTENTIAL FOR GALES WOULD BE WITH THE SW WINDS ON MONDAY. && .MQT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UPPER MICHIGAN... NONE. LAKE SUPERIOR... NONE. LAKE MICHIGAN... NONE. && SHORT TERM...JLA LONG TERM...07 AVIATION...JLA MARINE...JLA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 343 PM EST THU DEC 22 2011 MIZ001>007-009>014-084-085-231300- KEWEENAW-ONTONAGON-NORTHERN HOUGHTON-BARAGA-MARQUETTE-ALGER-LUCE- GOGEBIC-IRON-DICKINSON-MENOMINEE-DELTA-SOUTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- SOUTHERN HOUGHTON-NORTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- 343 PM EST THU DEC 22 2011 /243 PM CST THU DEC 22 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. LSZ162-240>251-263>267-231300- LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF A LINE FROM SAXON HARBOR WI TO GRAND PORTAGE MN BEYOND 5NM-SAXON HARBOR WI TO BLACK RIVER MI- BLACK RIVER TO ONTONAGON MI- ONTONAGON TO UPPER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL MI- UPPER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL TO EAGLE RIVER MI- EAGLE RIVER TO MANITOU ISLAND MI- MANITOU ISLAND TO POINT ISABELLE MI- POINT ISABELLE TO LOWER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL MI- LOWER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL TO HURON ISLANDS MI INCLUDING KEWEENAW AND HURON BAYS-HURON ISLANDS TO MARQUETTE MI- MARQUETTE TO MUNISING MI-MUNISING TO GRAND MARAIS MI- GRAND MARAIS TO WHITEFISH POINT MI- LAKE SUPERIOR FROM SAXON HARBOR WI TO UPPER ENTRANCE TO PORTAGE CANAL MI 5NM OFF SHORE TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER INCLUDING ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK- LAKE SUPERIOR FROM UPPER ENTRANCE TO PORTAGE CANAL TO MANITOU ISLAND MI 5NM OFF SHORE TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER- LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF LINE FROM MANITOU ISLAND TO MARQUETTE MI BEYOND 5NM FROM SHORE- LAKE SUPERIOR EAST OF A LINE FROM MANITOU ISLAND TO MARQUETTE MI AND WEST OF A LINE FROM GRAND MARAIS MI TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER BEYOND 5NM FROM SHORE- LAKE SUPERIOR FROM GRAND MARAIS MI TO WHITEFISH POINT MI 5NM OFF SHORE TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER- 343 PM EST THU DEC 22 2011 /243 PM CST THU DEC 22 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN LAKE SUPERIOR...CENTRAL LAKE SUPERIOR AND WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A FEW GALE FORCE GUSTS ARE POSSIBLE OVER WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR FRIDAY. GALE FORCE WINDS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND MONDAY EVENING OVER THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF LAKE SUPERIOR. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. LMZ221-248-250-231300- GREEN BAY NORTH OF LINE FROM CEDAR RIVER MI TO ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE-SEUL CHOIX POINT TO POINT DETOUR MI- 5NM EAST OF A LINE FROM FAIRPORT MI TO ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE- 343 PM EST THU DEC 22 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. 07
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI
353 PM EST THU DEC 22 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0349 PM SNOW 4 SE BIG BAY 46.78N 87.66W
12/22/2011 E3.0 INCH MARQUETTE MI PUBLIC
SNOW FELL OVER THE PAST 3 HOURS.
&&
KLUBERThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A spotter in Harvey measured five inches of lake effect snow in three and a half hours late on the 22nd.
A spotter near Chatham measured 5.5 inches of lake effect snow in five hours late on the 22nd. The observer south of Grand Marais also reported over five inches of snow in the 12-hour period ending on the morning of the 23rd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, December 2011
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: 358360, 358361.