Winter Storm in Michigan, December 11 to 13, 2024

Name: Winter Storm in Michigan, December 11 to 13, 2024
Start: 2024-12-11T06:00
End: 2024-12-13T18:00
Location: Michigan

December 11 to 13, 2024 · NWS APX · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Strong upper level troughing digging into the region brought another round of Arctic air overtop anomalously warm lake temperatures for mid-December, resulting in another round of impressive lake enhanced snowfall totals across the region. one which crossed northern Lower Michigan during the day on the 11th, and another that developed over the UP along lake aggregate troughing on the 11th, which…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 13

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 APX wrote it up.

Strong upper level troughing digging into the region brought another round of Arctic air overtop anomalously warm lake temperatures for mid-December, resulting in another round of impressive lake enhanced snowfall totals across the region. Lighter background flow initially resulted in development of disorganized lake effect/enhanced snow bands, including a couple mesolows...one which crossed northern Lower Michigan during the day on the 11th, and another that developed over the UP along lake aggregate troughing on the 11th, which was ejected SE into the morning of the 12th as a more focused trough axis swung into the region. This was followed by more stereotypical NW flow lake effect for the day on the 12th. This resulted in periods of hazardous travel, and snowfall totals close to 24 inches in 24-48 hours. By 1900EST on the 12th, total snowfall for the 2024-25 winter season at the NWS Gaylord, MI office was 83 inches, over half of the normal snowfall for an entire winter season for the Gaylord area. 81.2 inches of this fell since 0000EST on November 28th (Thanksgiving Day).

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 Gaylord, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 11, 3:47 AM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 11, 3:47 AM EST, 2 hours 13 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 11, 4:10 AM EST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Charlevoix County

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 12, 11:00 PM EST
Where: Charlevoix County forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 45.267, -85.240 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totals for Charlevoix county of 12-20 inches, corroborated by cooperative observer reports at East Jordan Wastewater Treatment Plant and Boyne Falls by December 12th of 12.2 and 14.0 inches, respectively. Additional public reports of 15-20 inches in the vicinity of Walloon Lake, which was largely a pivot point for shifting snow bands through the night of the 11th-12th.

Winter Storm, Emmet

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 12, 11:00 PM EST
Where: Emmet forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 45.588, -84.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totals across southern Emmet county of 8-15 inches by December 12th, evidenced by report from COOP observer at North Central Michigan College of 10.2 inches, and 8.0 inches at the Petoskey Wastewater Treatment Plant right on the water, along the south shore of Little Traverse Bay. Additional reports between Petoskey and I-75 as high as 15-19 inches.

Winter Storm, Cheboygan

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 12, 11:00 PM EST
Where: Cheboygan forecast zone
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 45.473, -84.492 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Highest snowfall totals largely located in southwestern Cheboygan County, with snowfall reports ranging between 1-2 feet by December 12th. Highest total of 22 inches, relayed by Skywarn amateur radio network, was near Weber Lake in extreme SW Cheboygan County, 6 miles WNW of Wolverine, MI. This was also the highest single-day total reported with this lake effect snow episode.

Winter Storm, Otsego

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 12, 11:00 PM EST
Where: Otsego forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 45.021, -84.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totals in Otsego county as high as 15-19 inches by the morning of December 12th. 24-hr snowfall total by 0700EST at NWS Gaylord, MI, 9 miles SSW of Gaylord, was 16.3 inches with a snow depth of 19inches. CoCoRaHS observer 2.2 miles ESE of Elmira reported 17.0 inches of new snow during this same timeframe.

Winter Storm, Antrim

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 13, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Antrim forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 45.007, -85.176 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totals across Antrim county of 12-17 inches through the 12th as multiple snow bands pivoted over the area. CoCoRaHS observer near Mancelona, MI reported 16.5 inches ending 0800EST on the 12th. The Antrim County Sheriff's Office issued a statement on social media at 0545EST on the 12th, advising the community to only go out if absolutely necessary to ensure safety due to difficult to extremely hazardous travel conditions.

Winter Storm, Kalkaska

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 13, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Kalkaska forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.685, -85.090 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Highest snowfall totals, garnered from social media, were across northern Antrim county, where 8-10 inches of snow fell by the morning of the 12th, the bulk of which fell overnight.

Winter Storm, Grand Traverse

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 13, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Grand Traverse forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 44.716, -85.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Highest snowfall totals of 10 to 11 inches over portions of Grand Traverse County, per CoCoRaHS and amateur radio reports. A snowfall total of 8.7 inches was reported on the morning of the 12th on Old Mission Peninsula, amid the relatively warm waters of Grand Traverse Bay.

Winter Storm, Leelanau

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 13, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Leelanau forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.152, -86.038 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A foot of snow fell between 1600EST on the 11th and 1300EST on the 12th near Suttons Bay. Cooperative observer near Maple City reported 7.0 inches by the evening on the 11th, along with gusty winds.

Winter Storm, Benzie

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 13, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Benzie forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.617, -86.139 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Report of 11 inches of snow in Lake Ann by the 12th. Additional reports from social media indicated periods of whiteout conditions elsewhere in the county.

Winter Storm, Manistee

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 13, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Manistee forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 44.238, -86.288 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Trained observer 1 mile N of Wellston, MI reported 11.8 inches of snow by 1000EST on the 12th, with snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour at times. 4.8 inches of this fell overnight. Additional trained spotter reports from the Brethren, MI area of 8 inches ending 1800 on December 12, on top of an additional 4 inches that fell during the day on the 11th.

Winter Storm, Western Chippewa County

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 13, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Western Chippewa County forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 46.328, -84.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tahquamenon Falls State Park reported 8.0 inches of snow through the 12th. Additional estimates from the Eckerman, MI area south of Tahquamenon Falls of 8 inches in approximately 12hrs ending on the morning of the 12th.

Winter Storm, Wexford

When: December 11, 6:00 AM EST to December 13, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Wexford forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.338, -85.578 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall total of 9.5 inches by the morning of December 12th reported in Harrietta, MI in central Wexford County.

Winter Storm, Crawford

When: December 11, 11:00 AM EST to December 13, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.684, -84.610 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall report of 9.5 inches in 12 hrs ending 1100EST on the 12th near Guthrie Lakes in northern Crawford County. Areas near Grayling reported anywhere from 6 to 10 inches through the middle of the day on the 12th.

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Michigan in 2024 Every state in 2024 This day in weather history Warnings in Michigan, December 2024

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: 1229766, 1229767, 1229771, 1229772, 1229774, 1229776, 1229779, 1229780, 1229782, 1229783, 1229787, 1229788, 1229786.