A low pressure system moving through Wisconsin and northern Lower Michigan dropped moderate snow over much of west and central Upper Michigan from the 21st into early on the 22nd.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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.
A low pressure system moving through Wisconsin and northern Lower Michigan dropped moderate snow over much of west and central Upper Michigan from the 21st into early on the 22nd.
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 Mar 21, 12:55 AM EST, 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 155 AM EDT FRI MAR 21 2014 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY) ISSUED AT 318 PM EDT THU MAR 20 2014 UPPER AIR PATTERN CONSISTS OF A 500 MB TROUGH OVER THE LOWER GREAT LAKES WITH A STRONG SHORTWAVE OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES THIS MORNING. THIS SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE EAST INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS TONIGHT AND INTO THE UPPER GREAT LAKES ON FRIDAY. NAM BRINGS IN SOME 850-500 MB Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE AND SOME DEEPER MOISTURE INTO THE CWA ON FRI. THIS SYSTEM LOOKS TO HAVE ABOUT 0.25 INCH OF QPF WITH IT FOR THIS EVENT WHICH WOULD TRANSLATE TO ABOUT 2 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW. STILL APPEARS LIKE THE HEAVIEST PCPN WILL BE ALONG THE WISCONSIN BORDER AND STILL HAVE THE HIGHEST POPS THERE. TREND HAS BEEN FOR THE MODELS TO BRING THE PCPN A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH THOUGH AND DID EXPAND THE POPS AND QPF A BIT FURTHER NORTH. THE LEAST AMOUNT WILL BE OVER THE EASTERN CWA WHERE DRIER AIR WILL REMAIN LONGER. OVERALL...MADE A FEW ADJUSTMENTS TO THE GOING FORECAST FOR QPF AND POPS. AS FOR TEMPERATURES...WENT SLIGHTLY COLDER FOR LOWS TONIGHT AS CLOUDS CLEAR AND A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE MOVES IN WITH LIGHT WINDS. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 450 PM EDT THU MAR 20 2014 THE LONG TERM PORTION OF THE FCST WILL BE COLD...OR MORE APPROPRIATELY...VERY COLD FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR AS TEMPS OVER THE WEEKEND THRU THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK WILL BE WAY BELOW NORMAL WITH 20-25 DEGREE DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL LIKELY. THIS NEXT PERIOD OF VERY COLD AIR WILL BE THE RESULT OF A RIDGE BUILDING ALONG THE W COAST OF NAMERICA AND CONNECTING WITH A POSITIVE ANOMALY DRIFTING FROM WRN ALASKA TO NRN ALASKA AND ADJACENT ARCTIC OCEAN. THIS WILL FORCE THE REDEVELOPMENT OF A DEEP ERN NAMERICA TROF. IT APPEARS THERE WILL BE 2 SURGES OF ARCTIC AIR INTO THE UPPER LAKES...THE FIRST OVER THE WEEKEND AND A SECOND REINFORCING SHOT TUE. PATTERN WILL NOT BE FAVORABLE FOR MUCH IN THE WAY OF SYNOPTIC SNOW. THERE SHOULD BE ONLY ONE REAL SYNOPTIC SYSTEM AFFECTING UPPER MI OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS...AND THAT WILL OCCUR FRI/FRI NIGHT. THEREAFTER...LES WILL BE THE MAIN PCPN CONCERN GIVEN THE VERY COLD AIR SETTLING OVER THE UPPER LAKES. HOWEVER...WITH LAKE SUPERIOR STILL MOSTLY ICE COVERED...LES WILL NOT BE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR. HOWEVER...AS HAS BEEN SEEN MANY TIMES THIS WINTER...IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH OPEN WATER/BKN ICE COVER TO GET LES GOING...AND IN SOME CASES DECENT LES. FARTHER DOWN THE ROAD...IT LOOKS LIKE A PATTERN CHANGE WILL BE IN THE OFFING WHICH WILL BRING WARMER WEATHER AND POTENTIALLY A MORE ACTIVE STORM TRACK FROM THE SW (A NUMBER OF GEM ENSEMBLES SUGGEST AT LEAST A COUPLE OF SYSTEMS LIFTING FROM THE SW TO THE GREAT LAKES REGION). SO...HEADING THRU THE LAST FEW DAYS OF MAR INTO EARLY APR...THERE COULD BE MORE SIGNIFICANT PCPN EVENTS (RAIN AND/OR SNOW AS VERY COLD AIR WILL STILL BE LINGERING NOT TOO FAR AWAY TO THE N IN CANADA). BEGINNING FRI NIGHT...SHORTWAVE WILL BE MOVING ACROSS THE UPPER GREAT LAKES. SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY OVER MT AND LOOKS QUITE IMPRESSIVE ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY. ALTHOUGH MODELS GENERALLY SUGGEST SOME WEAKENING OF THE WAVE WILL BEGIN AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE UPPER LAKES FRI NIGHT...VIGOROUS LOOK OF SYSTEM RIGHT NOW SUGGESTS LEANING TOWARD MODEL GUIDANCE SHOWING HEAVIER PCPN. AT 00Z FRI...MAIN AREA OF ISENTROPIC ASCENT WILL ALREADY BE SHIFTING INTO THE ERN FCST AREA...SO SNOW WILL BE WINDING DOWN OVER THE W. WITH MIXING RATIOS AROUND 2G/KG AROUND 750MB...THERE SHOULD BE A GENERAL 2 INCHES OF SNOW OVER THE E IN THE EVENING AS THE SNOW QUICKLY SHIFTS E. IF SYSTEM REMAINS STRONGER...THERE MAY BE MORE. TRAILING WEAK SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY COMBINED WITH MOIST LOW LEVELS AND LINGERING CYCLONIC NORTHERLY FLOW WILL HELP TO MAINTAIN -SHSN OVER THE W THRU THE NIGHT AND THEN OVER THE E INTO SAT MORNING WITH SOME LAKE COMPONENT ADDED AS CAA OCCURS. SAT THRU SUN...MUCH COLDER AIR SURGES INTO THE UPPER LAKES. 850MB TEMPS OF -9 TO -15C EARLY SAT MORNING ARE FCST TO FALL TO -16 TO -19C BY EVENING AND TO -20 TO -22C BY SUN MORNING. INITIALLY... INVERSIONS FALL TO 4-5KFT SAT...BUT THEN RISE TO AROUND 7KFT OR SO SAT NIGHT AS ANOTHER WEAK SHORTWAVE SHIFTS ACROSS THE AREA. WHILE EXTENSIVE ICE COVER WILL GREATLY LIMIT LES INTENSITY/COVERAGE... EXPECT SUFFICIENT BREAKS IN THE ICE TO ALLOW SCT TO AT TIMES NMRS -SHSN COVERAGE SAT/SAT EVENING...AND THEN A DIMINISHING TREND THRU SUN AS INVERSION FALLS. TYPICAL OF THIS TIME OF YEAR...DAYTIME HEATING MAY RESULT IN INLAND EXPANSION OF -SHSN/FLURRIES... ESPECIALLY SAT. ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIGHT (INCH OR 2 PER 12HR WHERE SHSN ARE MOST PERSISTENT). ACROSS THE W AND N...TEMPS SAT MAY NOT RISE MUCH OR MAY EVEN FALL A FEW DEGREES UNDER CAA. ELSEWHERE...TEMPS SHOULD RISE INTO THE MID/UPPER 20S. SINGLE DIGITS SHOULD BE THE RULE SAT NIGHT WITH SOME INTERIOR LOCATIONS POSSIBLY FALLING BLO ZERO. ON SUN...TEMPS PROBABLY WON'T GET ABOVE 15F ACROSS THE W AND N AS HIGH ALBEDO SNOW/ICE COVERED LAKE MAINTAINS ARCTIC CHILL. ACROSS THE S...TEMPS SHOULD SNEAK INTO THE LWR 20S AS LATE MAR SUN WORKS ON LWR ALBEDO FORESTED TERRAIN. SUN NIGHT LOOKS VERY COLD UNDER DRY AIR MASS (PRECIPITABLE WATER AROUND 25PCT OF NORMAL). ALTHOUGH SFC HIGH PRES CENTER PASSES A LITTLE S OF UPPER MI...IT SHOULD BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO PROVIDE A NEAR IDEAL RADIATIONAL COOLING NIGHT. OPTED FOR MINS BLO THE LOWEST GUIDANCE. TRADITIONAL COLD SPOTS MAY FALL TOWARD -20F...BUT IN GENERAL MOST OF THE AREA SHOULD BE BTWN 0 AND -15F. EXPECT MODEST WARMING MON AHEAD OF THE NEXT REINFORCING SHOT OF ARCTIC AIR ARRIVING TUE. EXPECT HIGHS MAINLY IN THE 20S...STILL A GOOD 10-15 DEGREES BLO NORMAL. WHILE THERE MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OF -SN ACCOMPANYING SHORTWAVE/COLD FRONT...WILL CONFINE ANY EXPLICIT MENTION OF SNOW TO THE W AND N WHERE LAKE SUPERIOR PROVIDES A LITTLE MOISTENING. 850MB TEMPS FALL BACK TO AROUND -20C ON TUE FOR ANOTHER COLD DAY WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER TEENS W AND N TO MID 20S FAR SCNTRL. MANY LOCATIONS MAY SEE ANOTHER SUBZERO NIGHT TUE NIGHT AS HIGH PRES RIDGE MOVES INTO THE WRN LAKES. EXPECT SOME MODERATION ON WED (HIGHS IN 20S)...THEN MORE SO ON THU AS W TO SW WINDS TAKE HOLD. HIGHS THU SHOULD REACH THE 30S. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z FRIDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 153 AM EDT FRI MAR 21 2014 EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS OVERNIGHT THROUGH FRI MORNING WITH ONLY MID AND HIGH CLOUDS MOVING INTO THE REGION. A DISTURANCE MOVING IN FROM THE WEST FRI AFTERNOON WILL QUICKLY BRING LOWER CIGS TO MVFR CONDITIONS BY EARLY AFTERNOON AND IFR LATE WITH MODERATE SNOW SPREADING ACROSS UPPER MICHIGAN. A BRIEF PERIOD OF LIFR CONDITIONS MAY ALSO BE POSSIBLE BUT CONFIDENCE WAS NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO INCLUDE AT THIS TIME. AFTER THE SNOW DIMINISHES LATE FRI EVENING...EXPECT SOME IMPROVEMENT TO MVFR. && .MARINE...(FOR THE 4 PM LAKE SUPERIOR FORECAST ISSUANCE) ISSUED AT 318 PM EDT THU MAR 20 2014 EXPECT NW WINDS UP TO 25 KTS EARLY THIS MORNING OVER THE E HALF TO BECOME LIGHT THRU TONIGHT AS A HI PRES RIDGE MOVES ACROSS THE UPPER LAKES. AS ANOTHER LO PRES SYSTEM SLIDES THRU THE UPPER MIDWEST ON FRI AND FRI NIGHT...E TO NE WINDS UP TO 20 KTS ON FRI WILL BACK TO THE NNW ON FRI NIGHT AND INCREASE UP TO 20-25 KTS. NW WINDS UP TO 20-25 KTS WILL THEN PERSIST THRU THE WEEKEND IN ADVANCE OF CANADIAN HI PRES MOVING TOWARD THE UPPER GREAT LAKES. AS THE HI CENTER PASSES INTO THE LOWER GREAT LAKES ON MON...PLAN ON WEST WINDS UP TO 20 KTS. && .MQT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UPPER MICHIGAN... NONE. LAKE SUPERIOR... NONE. LAKE MICHIGAN... NONE. && SHORT TERM...07 LONG TERM...ROLFSON AVIATION...JLB MARINE...07
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 434 AM EDT THU MAR 20 2014 MIZ001>007-009>014-084-085-211100- KEWEENAW-ONTONAGON-NORTHERN HOUGHTON-BARAGA-MARQUETTE-ALGER-LUCE- GOGEBIC-IRON-DICKINSON-MENOMINEE-DELTA-SOUTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- SOUTHERN HOUGHTON-NORTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- 434 AM EDT THU MAR 20 2014 /334 AM CDT THU MAR 20 2014/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES ON FRIDAY MAY BRING A PLOWABLE SNOW TO PORTIONS OF WEST AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT. THE BEST CHANCE FOR AS MUCH AS 4 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE NEAR THE WISCONSIN BORDER WEST OF IRON MOUNTAIN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. LSZ162-240>251-263>267-211100- 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- 434 AM EDT THU MAR 20 2014 /334 AM CDT THU MAR 20 2014/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN LAKE SUPERIOR...CENTRAL LAKE SUPERIOR AND WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND 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. LMZ221-248-250-211100- 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- 434 AM EDT THU MAR 20 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND 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. KC
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The observer near South Range measured 6.2 inches of snow in 18 hours.
There were public reports of five inches in Bessemer and four inches in Wakefield over a seven-hour period.
There was a public report of four inches of snow in seven hours at Ontonagon.
There was a public report of three inches of snow in six hours near L'anse.
There was a public report of three inches of snow in six hours at Laurium.
An estimated two to three inches of wet snow fell in the Munising area over a six-hour period.
There was a public report of an estimated four inches of snow in 12 hours near Dollarville.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, March 2014
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: 507946, 507936, 507937, 507938, 507939, 507941, 507945.