Winter Storm — Grand Traverse, Michigan

2024-12-11 to 2024-12-13 · Grand Traverse, Michigan

Event narrative

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.

Wider weather episode

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).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1229779. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.