Winter Storm in Alpena, Michigan

Widespread tree and infrastructure damage across the county, with 0.25 to 0.5 inches of ice accretion and around 5 inches of snow; liquid precipitation amounts of just over 2 inches of rainfall led to some minor flooding. The ASOS at Alpena Regional Airport was completely frozen over, resulting in data outages; the snow and ice also delayed airport operations. Around 60 percent of utility customers were without power in the county by the morning of the 16th.

Low pressure developed over the central US overnight on the 14th into the 15th, resulting in a first round of snowfall across northern Michigan on the morning of the 15th. There was a break for part of the day of the 15th, though some areas closer to Manistee transitioned to sleet/freezing rain at times. Another round of precipitation moved in during the evening and overnight hours going into the 16th as the strengthening low pressure center crossed southern Michigan, resulting in feet of snow across the UP and parts of northwest Lower Michigan/Tip of the Mitten. This transitioned to several inches of sleet across parts of north central Lower Michigan, and significant icing across northeast Lower and central Lower Michigan. Additional wraparound snow and lake effect snow continued during the day of the 16th, resulting in additional blowing/drifting snow and whiteout conditions. Snow drifts as high as 4-7 feet, to even as high as a single story house, were reported. Widespread travel difficulties and stops across the area due to the heavy snow and sleet, with additional tree and infrastructure damage due to ice accretion resulting in the Michigan governor declaring a state of emergency for Alcona, Alpena, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Roscommon, and Wexford counties in northern Lower Michigan.