Ice Storm — Otsego, Michigan

2025-03-28 to 2025-03-31 · Otsego, Michigan

Event narrative

Widespread radial ice reports of one-half to as much as three-quarters of an inch of ice across the county, with highest amounts in the Gaylord and Elmira areas. Significant damage to trees and property, including homes. Extensive damage to power and communication infrastructure, with power outages lasting multiple weeks, into late April. NWS Gaylord employees, unable to make it home due to trees and powerlines blocking roads, slept over at the office for multiple days; the office was on generator power from Saturday through the following Thursday.

Wider weather episode

Convection developed along and north of a warm front in the vicinity of the M-32/M-68 corridors on the evening of the 29th. After an initial round of thunderstorms and gravity-wave-induced gusty winds took place on the evening of the 28th, the boundary stalled over the region. Sustained cold, easterly, low-level flow kept surface temperatures largely at or below freezing near and north of the M-72 across northeast Lower Michigan, as an unusually moist air mass overran the boundary, resulting in nearly 60hrs of freezing drizzle/rain. 3-day liquid/liquid-equivalent rainfall totals in excess of 2-4 inches across much of the northern Lower Peninsula translated to radial ice accumulations in sub-freezing locations of 1/2 to nearly 1 inch by Sunday. This led to devastation of 3 million acres of forest and subsequent home/property damage due to trees collapsing under the weight of the ice. Dozens of Michigan state parks and campgrounds were damaged, many to the point of temporary closures for safety and cleanup. Many maple syrup farms in the region suffered partial or total destruction of more than half their maple trees, as well as to syrup-making equipment. Additionally, extensive damage was done to the power and communications infrastructure of northern Michigan: multiple TV and FM radio broadcast towers were toppled under the weight of the ice; almost the entire power grid of northern Michigan was crippled, resulting in unprecedented near-complete outages across multiple counties in northeast Lower Michigan, with thousands of line workers coming in from across the nation and internationally from Canada to assist with recovery and repair in damage that has been likened to a Category 5 hurricane, but with bitterly cold temperatures. Over 120,000 people were without power during the peak of the storm. Power did not return for some areas until late in April, nearly 3 weeks after the ice storm had departed. Emergency services, including multiple hospitals, dispatch centers, fire departments, and the National Weather Service office 9miles SSW of Gaylord, MI, were on backup generator power for several days following the ice storm, as first responders and other emergency services personnel worked around the clock in hazardous conditions, sometimes staying at work as shelter-in-place orders were issued for multiple counties due to the danger of falling trees and powerlines along thousands of miles of blocked roads and trails. 12 counties in northern Michigan were put under a state of emergency by the Michigan governor; a federal disaster declaration came several weeks later. The National Guard was deployed to assist with cleanup, recovery, and restoration as miles of primary and secondary roads were blocked for multiple days; several off-road trails and state parks were closed for weeks due to significant tree damage and danger from parts of trees still hanging in the canopy. The Mackinac Bridge closed several times, some for long durations, due to falling ice concerns, further hampering clean-up and recovery efforts as gas shortages spread from northeast Lower Michigan into the eastern UP. Initial estimates of damage and restoration costs related to the ice storm approached $200 million and are likely higher; economic impacts from power outages and gas shortages notwithstanding. Recovery from this once-in-a-generation ice storm in northern Michigan will continue for years to come.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1272651. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.