Lake-Effect Snow and Winter Weather in Michigan, January 1 to 3, 2012

Name: Lake-Effect Snow and Winter Weather in Michigan, January 1 to 3, 2012
Start: 2012-01-01T19:00
End: 2012-01-03T04:00
Location: Michigan

January 1 to 3, 2012 · NWS IWX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Moderate to heavy lake effect snow developed during the late afternoon and evening hours of January 1st and continued into January 2nd. Total snow accumulations generally ranged between 4 and 12 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 IWX wrote it up.

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 Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 1, 6:38 PM EST, 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 6:38 PM EST, 22 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
638 PM EST SUN JAN 1 2012

...MAJOR WINTER STORM TO IMPACT REGION...

.AVIATION/UPDATE...
SECONDARY SW TROUGH PIVOTING THROUGH NRN IN ATTM W/ROBUST SHSN
DVLPMNT OVR THE LAST HOUR W/RAPIDLY DETERORIATING FLIGHT CONDS THIS
EVENING. OTHERWISE GROWING LK RESPONSE GOING FORWARD AS CAA WING
DEEPENS BEHIND DEPARTING SW TROUGH AND XPCD MORE COHERENT LK
ENHANCEMENT AFT 03Z TIMED W/ARRIVAL OF MID LVL MSTR POCKET ADVTG
SEWD OUT OF WI W/PRIOR UPDATE DONE TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT. THUS
PRIMARILY MVFR CONDS XPCD THROUGH THE PD W/LIFR CONDS LIKELY MON
AFTN AND MON NIGHT AT KSBN IN HEAVY LK EFFECT SNOW. GUSTY SFC WINDS
WILL CONT THROUGH ABT MIDNIGHT BFR DIMINSHING SOMEWHAT FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE VALID PD.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. CONTD GROWING CONCERN AND CONFIDENCE IN
MAJOR LES EVENT WITH BLSN ADDNL HAZARD. FAVOR LIES TOWARD
NAM12/WRFARW FOR MESOSCALE DETAILING. WRFARW BEST HANDLES GRTLKS
COMPLEX /TRIPLE SHORTWAVE EMBEDDED/ MIDLVL TROUGH UNDERGOING RAPIDLY
DEEPENING IN NEAR TERM AS IT CONTS TO SHARPEN AND SLOWLY TRANSLATE
EWD INTO LWR GRTLKS TONIGHT...AND THEN INTO NEW ENGLAND BY ERLY TUE
TUE...WITH ASSOCD 200-250M/12 HR HGHT FALL CENTROID.

GREATEST NEGATIVE IN NEAR TERM IS CBL FLOW INITIALLY QUITE STRONG
/NEAR 40KTS/ WITH LYR TO LYR SHEAR NOTED TO UNDERMINE MESOSCALE
PROCESSES AND CONSEQUENTIAL LESSER RESIDENCE TIME. INITIAL WEAKER
MULTIBANDS ALREADY UNDERWAY WITH LK/8H DELTA TS INTO MID TEENS
ALREADY. DEEPER/CONCENTRATED CONVECTIVE ROLLS TO LKLY BECOME
ESTABLISHED AS IN CLOUD WINDS DIMINISH TO AROUND 35 KTS BY
DAYBREAK...WITH MORE UNIFORM CBL VECTORING. PER KAZO/KSBN NAM
BUFKIT...DEEP 70-90MB DGZ LYR TOWARD DAYBREAK WITH FAIR DEGREE OF
SATURATION /85-90 PERCENT/ AS DEEPER COLD AIR BECOMES ESTABLISHED
PUSHING DELTA T INTO UPPER TEENS WITH LK/7H DIFFERENTIALS INTO MID
20C RANGE. DEEP THERMAL INSTABILITY TO BE FULLY UTILIZED GIVEN MSTR
DEPTH. GOOD SYNOPTIC MSTR/PRECONDITIONING WITH SFC DPS WELL WINDWARD
OF LK MICHIGAN TO MID 20F FAR NWD TO MN BORDER.

GRAVE CONCERN FOR XTRM SNOWFALL RATES DVLPG MON INTO TUE WITH 5H
THERMAL TROF BOTTOMING OVHD TO M37-38...PERHAPS SUFCNT FOR LTG IN
HVST SQUALLS ESPLY MONDAY AFTN WITH DEEP SATURATION TO 7H WITH LK/7H
DIFFERENTIALS NEARING XTRM VALUES/30C AND LAKE INDUCED CAPE VALUES
APPROACHING 600 J/KG WITH LK INDUCED EQL TO 11.5 KFT. PLANAR VIEW
DEPICTING BEST ORGANIZED CONVERGENCE INITIALLY FM KLWA INTO BRANCH
COUNTY SLIPPING SWD AS WINDS GRDLY VEER FM 305 TO 335 THROUGH THE
DAY. MAXIMUM SNOWFALL RATES GIVEN XTRM INSTABILITY TO 2 INCHES/HR
ANTICIPATED UNDER WHAT SHOULD DVLP INTO PRIMARY SINGLE BAND
EVENT...OR AT LEAST FEWER STRONGER BANDS WITH SRN BAND BECMG UNDER
INFLUENCE OF WRN LK SUPR PRECONDITIONING BY AFTN. DY2 CONVECTION
NOTED AND CERTAINLY PSBL...WL HOLD ON THUNDERSNOW MENTION ATTM GIVEN
AREA/TIMING CONCERNS ATTM FOR LOW PROB EVENT...BUT CERTAINLY OCCRNC
TO PUSH RATES MORE TOWARD 3/HR. FOR NOW HAVE EXPANDED HEADLINES
FURTHER INLAND AND WHILE LES AMOUNTS FURTHER INLAND SIG
LWR...MULTIHAZARDS JUSTIFY UPG/EXPANDED AREA WITH BLSN LEADING TO
FLASH FREEZING/RECOVERING OF ROAD SURFACES/LOW VSBY/WCI DROPPING TO
NEAR ZERO ETC. HAVE RAISED POPS/AMOUNTS IN WARNING AND PERIPHERAL
ADV AREAS...ESP NRN KOS/NRN MARSHALL COUNTIES AND FURTHER INLAND
INTO SCNTL LWR MICHIGAN WITH HIR CONFIDENCE OF AFOREMENTIONED
DOMINANT BAND REACHING/CYLONICALLY CURVING WELL INLAND LTR
TONIGHT/MON AM. CONFIDENCE IN HIR WARNING AMOUNTS NRN BERRIEN/WRN
CASS COUNTIES PER CONTD IMPRESSIVE COBB NAM OUTPUT AT KSBN/KAZO. OF
CONCERN IS SHARP SFC/LLVL RIDGE STAGED STILL WEST OF CWA TUE AM THAT
A FULL AXIS LES BAND TO DVLP AND PERSIST WELL INTO
TUESDAY...PRIMARILY AFFECTING BERRIEN/LAPORTE AS FETCH CONTS TO VEER
ES TO 340 DEGREES AND CBL SLOWS TO LWR 20 KNOTS. WHILE MSTR DEPTH
SIG LESS...CONCERNED THAT MESOSCALE MODELS STILL UNDERPLAYING
COMBINED LK/SUPR/MI AGGREGATE THERMAL TROUGHING FURTHER OUT IN TIME
AND THEREBY NOT CAPTURING FULL POTNL WITH STRONG MSTR
FLUX/CONVERGENCE TO LKLY PERSIST. HAVE RAISED POPS FAR NWRN CWA FOR
FIRST HALF OF TUE AND NOTE POTNL EXTENSION FOR BERRIEN AND LAPORTE
COUNTIES MAY BE NEEDED...BUT CERTAINLY ENOUGH TIME TO ASSESS LTR.

&&

.LONG TERM...
TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY....THE 850 RIDGE AXIS SHOULD HAVE
MOVED JUST EAST OF LAKE MICHIGAN AT THE START OF THIS PERIOD...SO
HAVE KEPT LAKE EFFECT SNOW OUT OF THE FORECAST TUESDAY NIGHT. WARM
AIR ADVECTION WILL BE INCREASING TUESDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF THE NEXT
SYSTEM...SO LOWS TUESDAY NIGHT SHOULD ONLY DROP A FEW DEGREES FROM
THE TUESDAY HIGHS. HOWEVER..A CLIPPER TYPE OF SYSTEM WILL PASS NORTH
OF THE AREA WEDNESDAY. KEPT A CHANCE FOR SNOW BASICALLY OVER THE
NORTHEAST HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. ISENTROPIC LIFT IS
SUFFICIENT...BUT MOISTURE SOUTH OF THIS SYSTEM IS QUITE LIMITED...SO
EXPECT ANY SNOW AMOUNTS LATE TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY WILL BE
LIGHT. OTHERWISE...AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL ATTEMPT TO BUILD INTO
THE REGION LATE IN THE WEEK. TEMPERATURES SHOULD WARM MUCH ABOVE
NORMAL BY FRIDAY...WITH HIGHS IN THE LOW TO MID 40S. KEPT A SLIGHT
CHANCE FOR A RAIN OR SNOW SHOWER SATURDAY AS A WEAK TROF MOVES INTO
THE FORECAST AREA.

&&

.IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IN...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM EST /9 PM CST/ THIS EVENING FOR
     INZ003>009-012>018-020-022>027-032>034.

     WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 7 AM EST TUESDAY FOR INZ005-006.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM EST TUESDAY FOR INZ007>009.

     WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 4 AM EST /3 AM CST/ MONDAY TO 7 AM EST
     /6 AM CST/ TUESDAY FOR INZ003-004.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 AM EST /3 AM CST/ MONDAY TO 7 AM
     EST /6 AM CST/ TUESDAY FOR INZ012-014-016.

MI...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR MIZ078>081.

     WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 7 AM EST TUESDAY FOR MIZ077>080.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM EST TUESDAY FOR MIZ081.

     HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR MIZ077.

OH...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR OHZ001-002-004-
     005-015-016-024-025.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM EST TUESDAY FOR OHZ001.

LM...STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR LMZ043-046.

     GALE WARNING FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 PM EST MONDAY FOR
     LMZ043-046.

&&

SHORT TERM...MURPHY
LONG TERM...SKIPPER
AVIATION...T

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 1, 5:07 PM EST, 1 hour 53 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
507 PM EST SUN JAN 1 2012

MIZ077-022215-
BERRIEN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NILES...BENTON HARBOR...ST. JOSEPH...
BUCHANAN
507 PM EST SUN JAN 1 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER
MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED
THIS EVENING.

A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. SIGNIFICANT LAKE
EFFECT SNOW AMOUNTS ALONG WITH BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS
EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

MAJOR WINTER STORM CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST MONDAY INTO MONDAY
NIGHT WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. WIND
CHILLS WILL DIP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

MEASURED SNOWFALL AND WIND GUST REPORTS WILL BE APPRECIATED FOR
THIS EVENT.

&&

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES...OR
CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/IWX

INZ003>009-012-014-016-MIZ078>081-OHZ001-022215-
LA PORTE-ST. JOSEPH IN-ELKHART-LAGRANGE-STEUBEN-NOBLE-DE KALB-STARKE-
MARSHALL-KOSCIUSKO-CASS MI-ST. JOSEPH MI-BRANCH-HILLSDALE-WILLIAMS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MICHIGAN CITY...LA PORTE...SOUTH BEND...
MISHAWAKA...ELKHART...GOSHEN...LAGRANGE...TOPEKA...ANGOLA...
KENDALLVILLE...LIGONIER...AUBURN...GARRETT...KNOX...NORTH JUDSON...
PLYMOUTH...BREMEN...WARSAW...WINONA LAKE...DOWAGIAC...CASSOPOLIS...
STURGIS...THREE RIVERS...COLDWATER...HILLSDALE...BRYAN...MONTPELIER
507 PM EST SUN JAN 1 2012 /407 PM CST SUN JAN 1 2012/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER
MICHIGAN...NORTHERN INDIANA AND NORTHWEST OHIO.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED
INTO THIS EVENING.

A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. SIGNIFICANT LAKE
EFFECT SNOW AMOUNTS ALONG WITH BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS
EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

MAJOR WINTER STORM CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST MONDAY INTO MONDAY
NIGHT WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. WIND
CHILLS WILL DIP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

MEASURED SNOWFALL AND WIND GUST REPORTS WILL BE APPRECIATED FOR
THIS UPCOMING EVENT.

&&

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES...OR
CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/IWX

INZ013-015-017-018-020-022>027-032>034-OHZ002-004-005-015-016-024-
025-022215-
PULASKI-FULTON IN-WHITLEY-ALLEN IN-WHITE-CASS IN-MIAMI-WABASH-
HUNTINGTON-WELLS-ADAMS-GRANT-BLACKFORD-JAY-FULTON OH-DEFIANCE-HENRY-
PAULDING-PUTNAM-VAN WERT-ALLEN OH-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WINAMAC...FRANCESVILLE...ROCHESTER...
COLUMBIA CITY...SOUTH WHITLEY...FORT WAYNE...MONTICELLO...
BROOKSTON...LOGANSPORT...PERU...WABASH...NORTH MANCHESTER...
HUNTINGTON...BLUFFTON...OSSIAN...DECATUR...BERNE...MARION...
HARTFORD CITY...MONTPELIER...PORTLAND...WAUSEON...ARCHBOLD...
DEFIANCE...NAPOLEON...PAULDING...ANTWERP...OTTAWA...PANDORA...
VAN WERT...DELPHOS...LIMA
507 PM EST SUN JAN 1 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST OHIO AND
NORTHERN INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED
THIS EVENING. OCCASIONAL SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP WITH MINOR
ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

LAKE EFFECT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED MONDAY INTO MONDAY
NIGHT. THE HIGHEST ACCUMULATIONS WILL OCCUR ACROSS NORTHERN
INDIANA AND PARTS OF LOWER MICHIGAN...CLOSER TO LAKE MICHIGAN.
WIND CHILLS WILL DIP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS MONDAY AND MONDAY
NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

MEASURED SNOWFALL AND WIND GUST REPORTS WILL BE APPRECIATED FOR
THIS UPCOMING EVENT.

&&

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES...OR
CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/IWX

LMZ043-046-022215-
NEW BUFFALO MI TO ST JOSEPH MI-MICHIGAN CITY IN TO NEW BUFFALO MI-
507 PM EST SUN JAN 1 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF
SOUTHEASTERN LAKE MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

GUSTY WEST WINDS PERSIST THIS EVENING. FREEZING SPRAY IS EXPECTED
BY LATE TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

DANGEROUS MARINE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR ALL MARINE CRAFT DUE
TO THE STRONG WINDS AND VERY LIMITED VISIBILITY IN HEAVY SNOW
SHOWERS AND FREEZING SPRAY MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.

&&

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES...OR
CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/IWX/?N=MARINE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 1, 6:29 PM EST, 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
629 PM EST SUN JAN 01 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0410 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 5 SW FORT WAYNE         40.98N  85.19W
01/01/2012  M48 MPH          ALLEN              IN   ASOS

&&

SC

Local storm report, Jan 1, 6:30 PM EST, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
630 PM EST SUN JAN 01 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0522 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 NNE BENTON HARBOR     42.13N  86.42W
01/01/2012  M47 MPH          BERRIEN            MI   ASOS

&&

SC

Local storm report, Jan 1, 6:31 PM EST, 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
631 PM EST SUN JAN 01 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0529 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 5 ESE LIMA              40.71N  84.02W
01/01/2012  M48 MPH          ALLEN              OH   ASOS

&&

SC

Local storm report, Jan 1, 6:32 PM EST, 28 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
632 PM EST SUN JAN 01 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0317 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 4 SE GOSHEN             41.53N  85.79W
01/01/2012  M45 MPH          ELKHART            IN   ASOS

&&

SC

Local storm report, Jan 1, 6:34 PM EST, 26 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
634 PM EST SUN JAN 01 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0355 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 5 SSW MARION            40.49N  85.67W
01/01/2012  M48 MPH          GRANT              IN   AWOS

&&

SC

Local storm report, Jan 1, 6:40 PM EST, 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
640 PM EST SUN JAN 01 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0530 PM     NON-TSTM WND DMG 3 S SYRACUSE            41.38N  85.75W
01/01/2012                   KOSCIUSKO          IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TREE AND POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS THE ROAD AT 1000 N AND
            500 E. TIME ESTIMATED.

&&

SC

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 lake-effect snow, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Lake-Effect Snow, Berrien

When: January 1, 7:00 PM EST to January 3, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Berrien forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Lake effect snow, heavy at times, developed behind a strong cold front as arctic air filtered in over relatively warm lake waters. Total snow accumulations ranged from around 4 inches across southwestern portions of Berrien County to between 8 and 12 inches across eastern Berrien County. A trained spotter reported 11.2 inches of total snow accumulation 1 mile east-southeast of Buchanan. The falling snow combined with gusty winds created reduced visibilities to less than a quarter of a mile at times, along with significant blowing and drifting snow. This led to cancelled events and reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region.

Lake-Effect Snow, Cass

When: January 1, 7:00 PM EST to January 3, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 41.915, -85.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake effect snow, heavy at times, developed behind a strong cold front as arctic air filtered in over relatively warm lake waters. Total snow accumulations generally ranged between 8 and 12 inches across the county, with a report of 11 inches at Edwardsburg. The falling snow combined with gusty winds created reduced visibilities to less than a quarter of a mile at times, along with significant blowing and drifting snow. This led to cancelled events and reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region.

Lake-Effect Snow, St. Joseph

When: January 1, 7:00 PM EST to January 3, 2:00 AM EST
Where: St. Joseph forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 41.914, -85.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake effect snow, heavy at times, developed behind a strong cold front as arctic air filtered in over relatively warm lake waters. Total snow accumulations generally ranged between 3 and 6 inches across the county, with amounts in excess of 6 inches across far southwest St. Joseph County based on radar and reports out of eastern Cass County. The falling snow combined with gusty winds created reduced visibilities to less than a quarter of a mile at times, along with significant blowing and drifting snow. This led to cancelled events and reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region.

Winter Weather, Branch

When: January 1, 7:00 PM EST to January 2, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Branch forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 41.916, -85.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake effect snow, heavy at times, developed behind a strong cold front as arctic air filtered in over relatively warm lake waters. Total snow accumulations generally ranged between 2 and 5 inches across the county, heaviest across southwestern portions of the county. The falling snow combined with gusty winds created reduced visibilities to less than a quarter of a mile at times. This led to reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region.

What these are

Lake-Effect Snow: Heavy snow in bands downwind of a large lake as cold air crosses warmer water.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Michigan in 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in Michigan, January 2012

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 353201, 353202, 353203, 353204.