Lake-Effect Snow — Lake, Michigan

2014-11-17 to 2014-11-21 · Lake, Michigan

Event narrative

Up to 16 to 20 inches of snow fell across portions of Lake county from November 17-21, resulting in very hazardous travel conditions.

Wider weather episode

The cold air and a favorable atmospheric setup for lake-effect snow led to a prolonged and record-breaking early season snowfall across much of the Great Lakes. Due to strong winds, the greatest snow amounts were recorded further inland. Grand Rapids and Muskegon each broke one daily snowfall record during this period. The snow that fell during the cold air outbreak in the middle of the month accounted for the vast majority of the monthly totals. Grand Rapids received 31.0 inches of snow for November, eclipsing the previous record of 28.2 inches in 1895. Muskegon accumulated 24.5 inches, falling short of the 1995 record of 25.7 inches. Lansing had 6.2 inches, still above normal for the month but not even in the top ten snowiest Novembers.

Synoptic and lake effect snow continued November 17-21 and the snow was heavy at times, resulting in hazardous travel conditions through the week. Total snowfall from November 13-21 reached 3 feet from north central Allegan county north to eastern Ottawa county. Total snowfall reports in excess of 2 feet were common along the US-131 corridor.

November 2014 was a remarkable month for cold and snow. Temperatures across Southwest Lower Michigan averaged well below normal, snowfall was above to well above normal, and precipitation was near to above normal. Grand Rapids had their snowiest November on record while Muskegon had their second snowiest. A number of daily temperature, snowfall, and precipitation records were also set.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 549674. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.