Winter Storm — Ontonagon, Michigan

1996-03-24 to 1996-03-25 · Ontonagon, Michigan

Wider weather episode

Low pressure moved northeast across Iowa during the evening of the 24th and over Wisconsin during the early morning of the 25th. The low then crossed Northern Lake Michigan and reached Sault Ste. Marie around 11 am EST on the 25th. Light snow developed overWest Upper Michigan during the afternoon of the 24th and spread into North Central Upper Michigan and became heavy during the evening. Meanwhile, a mix of rain and freezing rain developed east of Marquette and Iron Mountain. Shortly after midnight on the 25th, north winds accelerated with frequent gusts above 40 mph. This caused whiteout conditionsacross much of West and North Central Upper Michigan for most of the day on the 25th. The whiteout conditions lead to a fatal traffic accident between 2 semi-trucks on Highway M28 in Matchwood Township 2 miles east of Bergland in Ontonagon County. The whiteouts also closed Highway M28 between Marquette and Munising during the afternnoon and evening of the 25th. The mixed precipitation east of Marquette and Iron Mountain changed to all snow between 7 and 10 am on the 25th, but the heavy snow was confined to the west half of Upper Michigan. The snow diminished to flurries during the evening of the 25th. Snow totals included 30 inches at Ontonagon, 28 inches at Rockland, 24 inches at Chassell and Ahmeek, 20 inches at L'anse, Watersmeet, Houghton and Ironwood, 18 inches at Silver City, Watton and Herman, 14 inches at Marquette and Iron River and 10 inches at Deerton and Champion.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5575657. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.