Arctic air spreading across Lake Superior in the wake of a cold front generated moderate to heavy lake effect snow over portions of west and north central Upper Michigan from the 1st into the 2nd. North to northwest winds gusting over 25 mph at times also caused considerable blowing snow and occasional whiteout conditions.
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.
Arctic air spreading across Lake Superior in the wake of a cold front generated moderate to heavy lake effect snow over portions of west and north central Upper Michigan from the 1st into the 2nd. North to northwest winds gusting over 25 mph at times also caused considerable blowing snow and occasional whiteout conditions.
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 Apr 1, 6:39 AM EST, 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 739 AM EDT FRI APR 1 2016 .SHORT TERM...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) ISSUED AT 436 AM EDT FRI APR 1 2016 SHORTWAVE AND SFC TROUGH MOVING INTO THE WRN CWA WILL LEAD TO A COMPACT SFC LOW OVER WRN LAKE SUPERIOR IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS THAT WILL SHIFT ACROSS THE KEWEENAW (AS SUGGEST BY BULK OF GUIDANCE) BETWEEN 12Z AND 15Z BEFORE MOVING TO THE ERN U.P. THIS AFTERNOON. THE STRONG CONVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW AND TROUGH WILL LEAD TO GREATER SNOW SHOWER COVERAGE AND INTENSITY ACROSS UPPER MI. LAKE ENHANCEMENT WILL ALSO BE A FACTOR AS 850MB TEMPS WILL BE DROPPING TO AROUND -11C THIS AFTERNOON. ALL AREAS SHOULD SEE SNOW TODAY...EXPECT OVER SRN MENOMINEE COUNTY WHERE LOW LEVEL TEMPS WILL LIKELY LEAD TO RAIN. THE MOST SNOW SHOULD FALL NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR DUE TO THE SFC LOW TRACKING ALONG THE N SHORE AND LAKE ENHANCEMENT. HAVE 2-3 INCHES OVER THE KEWEENAW TODAY...WITH 1-2 INCHES ELSEWHERE NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR. LESS THAN AN INCH ELSEWHERE. A SFC RIDGE BRIEFLY MOVES OVER EARLY TONIGHT BEFORE ANOTHER SHORTWAVE DIVES JUST SW OF THE AREA. THE SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE TO JUST SW OF THE CWA BY 12Z SAT...BRINGING SNOW TO FAR WRN UPPER MI AND AREAS NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR THROUGH 12Z. HAVE 0.5-1.5 INCHES OF SNOW PRIOR TO 12Z...SEE LONG TERM DISCUSSION FOR MORE DETAILS ON ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL AFTER 12Z. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 413 AM EDT FRI APR 1 2016 NAM SHOWS A 500 MB RIDGE ACROSS THE WEST HALF OF THE U.S. AND A BROAD AND DEEP 500 MB TROUGH ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF THE U.S. 12Z SAT. THE TROUGH AXIS MOVES ACROSS THE U.P. ON SAT. THE RIDGE AXIS ACROSS THE WEST HALF MOVES INTO THE ROCKIES THIS FORECAST PERIOD THROUGH 12Z MON AND TROUGHING REMAINS ACROSS THE UPPER GREAT LAKES. NAM MOVES OUT SOME STRONG 850-500 MB Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE OUT OF THE CWA SAT MORNING ALONG WITH SOME DEEPER MOISTURE. MORE MOISTURE AND 850-500 MB Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE RETURNS SUN MORNING AND REMAINS INTO SUN NIGHT. GFS AND ECMWF SHOW ABOUT THE SAME THING AS WELL AND WILL USE A BLEND OF ALL OF THE MODELS FOR THIS FORECAST. OVERALL...DID NOT MAKE TOO MANY CHANGES TO THE GOING FORECAST. STILL LOOKS LIKE LAKE ENHANCEMENT SNOW WILL OCCUR SATURDAY AND COULD END UP SEEING 2-3 INCHES OF SNOW OUT OF THIS EPISODE WITH THE COLD AIR. WILL SEE ANOTHER 2-5 INCHES OF SNOW SUN INTO SUN NIGHT WITH NEXT SYSTEM PASSING TROUGH. WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION THESE TWO EPISODES IN THE HWO PRODUCT FOR NOW. IN THE EXTENDED...GFS AND ECMWF SHOW A BROAD 500 MB TROUGH OVER THE UPPER GREAT LAKES 12Z MON WITH SOME COLD AIR ALOFT STILL AROUND. 850 MB TEMPERATURES AT 12Z MON ARE AROUND -18C OVER LAKE SUPERIOR. THE AIRMASS SLOWLY MODIFIES TO -15C AT 850 TUE MORNING WITH THE 500 MB TROUGH AXIS OVER THE LOWER GREAT LAKES. A 500 MB SHORTWAVE MOVES INTO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY 12Z WED AND THIS SHORTWAVE DIGS INTO THE UPPER GREAT LAKES 12Z THU. LOOKS ACTIVE WITH TEMPERATURES REMAINING BELOW NORMAL. WILL HAVE FIRST ALBERTA CLIPPER SYSTEM THROUGH ON MON WITH ANOTHER MOVING THROUGH ON WED INTO THU. STILL LOOKS LIKE RAIN/SNOW MIX FOR WED AND THU FOR NOW. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z SATURDAY MORNING) ISSUED AT 738 AM EDT FRI APR 1 2016 WORST CONDITIONS EXPECTED TODAY AS A SHORTWAVE AND COMPACT SURFACE LOW MOVES FROM NEAR KCMX TO EAST OF KSAW. AFTER MOISTURE AND PRECIP ASSOCIATED WITH THAT LOW MOVES OUT...GOOD MIXING SHOULD RESULT AND CIGS SHOULD QUICKLY IMPROVE. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE MOVES IN LATE TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW...SO CONDITIONS AT KIWD AND KCMX WILL PROBABLY START TO DETERIORATE AROUND 11Z SAT...BUT LEFT OUT OF THE FORECAST FOR NOW. && .MARINE...(FOR THE 4 PM LAKE SUPERIOR FORECAST ISSUANCE) ISSUED AT 401 PM EDT THU MAR 31 2016 ACTIVE PERIOD ON LK SUPERIOR AS SERIES OF TROUGHS WILL BRING OCCASIONAL WIND SHIFTS. EXPECT NNE WINDS 20-30 KTS TO DIMINISH OVERNIGHT WITH ARRIVAL OF LOW PRESSURE TROUGH FRI MORNING SHIFTING WINDS TO NW TO 30 KTS INTO FRI AFTN. WINDS DIMINISH INTO FRI NIGHT BUT INCREASE SHARPLY AGAIN ON SAT FM THE N-NW TO 30 KTS WITH GALE GUSTS POSSIBLE. WINDS DIMINISH SAT NIGHT THEN INCREASE AGAIN FM THE NE SUN NIGHT INTO MON AS ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CROSSES THE UPPER GREAT LAKES. && .MQT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UPPER MICHIGAN... NONE. LAKE SUPERIOR... NONE. LAKE MICHIGAN... NONE. && SHORT TERM...TITUS LONG TERM...07 AVIATION...TITUS MARINE...JLA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 439 AM EDT FRI APR 1 2016 MIZ001>007-009>014-084-085-021200- KEWEENAW-ONTONAGON-NORTHERN HOUGHTON-BARAGA-MARQUETTE-ALGER-LUCE- GOGEBIC-IRON-DICKINSON-MENOMINEE-DELTA-SOUTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- SOUTHERN HOUGHTON-NORTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- 439 AM EDT FRI APR 1 2016 /339 AM CDT FRI APR 1 2016/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TRACKING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE UPPER GREAT LAKES MAY PRODUCE SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION STARTING LATE TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TRACKING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE UPPER GREAT LAKES MAY PRODUCE SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION INTO SATURDAY. IN ADDITION...NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS COULD GUST TO 35 MPH SATURDAY MORNING ALONG LAKE SUPERIOR...CREATING BLOWING SNOW. A STEADY LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW MAY PRODUCE SEVERAL MORE INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. LSZ162-240>251-263>267-021200- 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- 439 AM EDT FRI APR 1 2016 /339 AM CDT FRI APR 1 2016/ 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...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NORTH TO NORTHWEST GALES TO 35 KNOTS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE EAST HALF OF LAKE SUPERIOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. NORTHWEST TO NORTH GALES TO 40 KNOTS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. LMZ221-248-250-021200- 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- 439 AM EDT FRI APR 1 2016 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...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NORTH TO NORTHWEST GALES OF 35 KNOTS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. 07
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 winter weather, 1 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Observers at Atlantic Mine and Painesdale measured 6.5 inches of lake effect snow in 24 hours.
Observers and spotters near Grand Marais measured five to six inches of lake effect snow in eight hours.
The spotter five miles north of Pine Stump Junction measured 4.5 inches of lake effect snow in 12 hours.
The L'anse Fire Department measured six inches of lake effect snow in eight hours.
The National Weather Service in Negaunee Township measured 7.5 inches of lake effect snow in 14 hours. North winds gusting over 25 mph also caused blowing and drifting of snow and lowered visibility at times.
There were social media reports of 5.2 inches of lake effect snow in six hours at Ironwood and 4.0 inches of snow in three hours at Bessemer. North winds gusting over 25 mph at times also caused considerable blowing and drifting of snow and occasional whiteout conditions.
There was a report via social media of an estimated four inches of lake effect snow in five hours. North winds gusting over 25 mph also caused blowing and drifting of snow and reduced visibility at times.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, April 2016
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: 626803, 626816, 626821, 626814, 626811, 626797, 626824.