5" per Hour Lake Michigan Snowstorm

[Mike Kovalchick]

Last night, an intense mergering of snowbands occurred over Antrim and Otsego counties in NW Lower Michigan.

You can read about it here:http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md2412.html

And here: http://kamala.cod.edu/mi/latest.fxus63.KAPX.html

It was a WNW wind event which typically targets this area: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/apx/science/les/wnwflow.php

I left the Lansing area at 2 AM after I read reports of snowfall rates of 5"/hour in the Gaylord area. The roads were all clear until about ten miles away. My entrance road at my cottage in the center of the affected area had so much powdery snow on it I had to drive 5 mph...as the draft produced by the hood of the truck was blowing the snow back into the windshield so I couldn't see.

Once it's daylight and the roads are plowed..will try to get out and take a few pics of this rather remarkable event. Lake snowfall rates of this intensity are rare in this area but are somewhat common on the Tug Hill in New York with winds blowing off the long axis of Lake Ontario.

Another big storm is on the way for later tonight through tomorrow night which should add to the fun.

EDIT: 27 inches of snow on the ground.

 

[Ryan Wichman]

I was just about to ask if anyone had any pictures on this event, if you can get some pics put on here that would be awesome! How long does the lake effect usually go until up there?

 

[Stephen Lamontagne]

wow that's pretty rapid snowfall. I was watching the radar on it last night, very strange to see the snow bands yet no clouds.

 

[rdale]

I was watching the radar on it last night, very strange to see the snow bands yet no clouds.

It's impossible to have extreme snowfall without clouds You want to look at a satellite image to see clouds, radar is used primarily for precipitation.

 

[Mike Kovalchick]

It's impossible to have extreme snowfall without clouds You want to look at a satellite image to see clouds, radar is used primarily for precipitation.

True. Although, I will mention a few examples where you can have light snow without apparant clouds directly over head.

I've seen light snow falling when stratocu are several miles distant and the sky is almost completely clear. This happened when lake clouds dry up as they move inland..but the wind can carry the snow a bit further.

If it is really cold..of course you get ice crystal falling without clouds.

Final example is when the dentritic growth region is very low to the ground. I've been in the mountains when it appears to the ground observer that the sky is full of snowflakes but no apparant cloud above as in a sense..you are in the cloud.

Oh..and it is snowing right now with bright sunshine but I will admit if I look real close..the clouds are there!

 

[Mike Kovalchick]

I was just about to ask if anyone had any pictures on this event, if you can get some pics put on here that would be awesome! How long does the lake effect usually go until up there?

In extreme situations, you can get intense stationary bands for 24 hours or more although couple of hours is more common.

In NW lower Michigan, wind parallel horizontal roll convection is dominant which tends to move back and forth a lot and rarely stay in one place for long.

 

[Mike Kovalchick]

Drove around the Antrim/Otsego county areas and didn't find anything more than about 1 feet of new snow with a base of up to 29".

Per the NWS, this is the deepest that the snowpack has been so early in the season in the last 20 years. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=apx&storyid=19689&source=0

See pics. Note one of them is of Bruce the plow guy. He got his very large snow plow stuck trying to unplow my driveway. It took about an hour be we got him out. Yet another storm chaser rescue story!

One of them is also of my favorite viewing point...looking at the snowbands go by on GRLEVEL3 radar while watching them at the same time blow across the lake.

 

[Mike Kovalchick]

See below for more pics:

 

[Brian Russ]

I live in Oswego county on the southeast corner of Lake Ontario,approximately 1/2 hour
from the Tug hill and I can tell you that these pictures look all too familiar. I have been
witness to the February 2007 week long extravaganza where at times we had up to 7 inch
per hour snowfall rates. That's the kind of stuff that can ruin your day if you have to commute
more than 15 minutes to any given location. The entire county was shut down with many larger
towns/cities declaring emergency and no travel allowed.

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/locust/ (note at the bottom of the statement,Mexico,NY..my home town)

I feel for the guy from Canada posting the Snow Squall thread. Usually we have at
least one impressive 24 hour snowfall total within the 24-36 inch range every year.
Truth be known,our county gets the bulls-eye more frequently,but when it does
aim for the Tug Hill,they do get more in one shot than we do. Barnes Corners had 54"
in a 24hr period.

I've also been witness to my share of thunder and lightning during some of these
intense events. I have some pics of one of my vehicles buried not once,but twice
during the blast-'o-thon in '07. I will dig them up and post them.

 

[Mike Kovalchick]

Brian,

There is no doubt that the Tug Hill is to powerful Winter storms as Oklahoma is tornadoes! The only area that surpasses it in the Eastern U.S. is Jay's Peak in Vermont.

I hope to make it out your way for a Winter chase if a particularly good setup is in the cards with enough lead time for me to be able to plan for it.

Of course, as you alluded to...be careful what you wish for. The tremedous snowfall makes it almost impossible to travel very far unless you drive a Hummer type vehicle. Perhaps an approach from the South to a West to East oriented band wouldn't prove to be too difficult. For picture taking purposes..a location just outside a band is idea or pics of the aftermath.

Not sure if you are familar with the report, "Evaluation of the Reported Jan. 11-12, 1997, Montague, New York, 77-Inch, 24-Hour, Lake-Effect Snowfall" or not..but it is definately a good read. Most people would consider 77" of snow in an entire Winter as very snowy!