Blizzard — Marquette, Michigan

2025-12-29 · Marquette, Michigan

Event narrative

There were blizzard conditions with frequent wind gusts of 40-55 mph and snowfall of 8-12 in Marquette County. The K.I. Sawyer (KSAW) AWOS peak gust was 53 mph before the wind sensor stopped reporting. Widespread tree damage and power outages were reported, particularly near the lakeshore. Some structures were damaged from trees falling on them. The Marquette Board of Light and Power reported (summarizing) the event rivaled anything in the past 10 to 20 years and the scale of damage, restoration and coordination was extraordinary. Up to 39% of customers were without power. Some locations took up to 3 days to restore power. Multiple warming shelters were opened. Road closures included M-28 due to whiteout conditions. Key Impacts: Very difficult to impossible travel, power outages, tree damage, structure damage, road closures.

Wider weather episode

A surface low pressure rapidly deepened 22 mb in 24 hours as it tracked northeastward from the mid-Mississippi Valley to Chicago to the Georgian Bay, bringing blizzard conditions to the UP on the 28th and 29th. Rain turned to snow during the afternoon and evening of the 28th with a few inches of heavy, wet snow developing and sticking to trees. As the low moved east, cold air quickly rushed in and heavy snow continued through the early morning hours of the 29th. Winds increased from the north with 40'60 mph wind gusts. The combination of these winds and the snow/ice-laden trees resulted in significant/locally extreme tree damage, especially in the greater Marquette area, where 62% of customers of the local utility lost power. In terms of these impacts, it was one of the most impactful storms in recent memory. Travel conditions became difficult to impossible with heavy blowing and drifting snow and near-zero visibility.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1307354. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.