Winter Storm — Charlevoix County, Michigan

2024-11-28 to 2024-11-30 · Charlevoix County, Michigan

Event narrative

Twenty-four hour snowfall of 8 inches ending on the morning of the 30th, from Boyne Falls cooperative observer. Event totals as high as 16 to 17 inches in the Boyne Falls area by the morning of the 30th per social media reports. A social media report of a 32-inch snowfall total ending 0900EST November 30, northwest of Vanderbilt in Charlevoix county. A twenty-four hour snowfall total of 13.8inches measured at East Jordan Wastewater Treatment Plant ending on the morning of the 30th. As an example of lake effect snowfall gradients, the cooperative observer 2miles NW of East Jordan received only 10.2 inches through the entire 72+hour event ending the morning of December 2nd.

Wider weather episode

A prolonged period of cyclonic flow settled into the Upper Great Lakes starting on Thanksgiving night as the first in a series of disturbances moved into the region. Upper level troughing then settled in for the weekend, spanning the last couple days of November and the first couple days of December, bringing an unseasonably cold air mass over the unseasonably warm Great Lakes, resulting in an extended period of significant lake effect snow. Despite wind shifts that shifted the position of the most intense snow bands through the weekend, 1-3inch per hour snowfall rates within these bands resulted in 12hour totals of 12inches or more. The NWS Gaylord, MI office, located 9miles SSW of Gaylord, set an all-time calendar-day snowfall record of 24.8inches for the calendar date of 11-29-2024, with more to come through the next 3 days into December 2. Some areas of Otsego County received as much as 4feet of snow through the entire event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1225013. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.