Winter Weather in Michigan, January 1 to 2, 2015

Name: Winter Weather in Michigan, January 1 to 2, 2015
Start: 2015-01-01T00:00
End: 2015-01-02T09:00
Location: Michigan

January 1 to 2, 2015 · NWS MQT · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Moderate lake effect snow showers and blowing snow in the wake of a cold front affected northwest and northeast Upper Michigan from the 1st into the morning of the 2nd.

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: 3

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 MQT wrote it up.

Moderate lake effect snow showers and blowing snow in the wake of a cold front affected northwest and northeast Upper Michigan from the 1st into the morning of the 2nd.

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 Marquette, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 6:37 PM EST, 5 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 6:37 PM EST, 5 hours 23 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 31, 3:38 PM EST, 8 hours 22 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

3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Northern Houghton

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Houghton forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.992, -88.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A spotter in Houghton measured six inches of snow in the 12-hour period ending on the morning the 1st. There was another separate public report in Houghton of an estimated three inches of lake effect snow in three hours during the early morning of the 1st. Westerly winds gusting over 25 mph at times also resulted in blowing snow reducing visibility to less than one half mile at times.

Winter Weather, Alger

When: January 1, 12:30 PM EST to January 2, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Alger forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 46.451, -86.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lake effect snowfall reports over approximately an 18-hour period included 5.0 inches at Munising and 5.7 inches ten miles south of Grand Marais. The lake effect snow combined with blowing snow from northwest winds gusting between 25 and 30 mph reduced visibility to less than one half mile at times.

Winter Weather, Luce

When: January 1, 1:00 PM EST to January 2, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Luce forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.368, -85.509 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The spotter just south of Pine Stump Junction measured 4.8 inches of lake effect snow in less than 24 hours. Northwest winds gusting over 25 mph also contributed to reduced visibility in snow and blowing snow.

What these are

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 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Michigan, January 2015

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 555475, 555476, 555477.