Alger storm history

At least two individuals were swimming in Lake Superior at a beach in Alger County, east of the Laughing Whitefish River outlet, when they were both swept out towards the open waters by a rip current. Both individuals were in water that was waist deep when the first individual wa…

A father and his son both drowned in high waves and strong rip currents in Grand Marais Harbor on the afternoon of the 5th. Northwest winds gusting over 30 mph at times contributed to the high waves and strong rip currents.

Lightning strike killed a fork lift operator at a lumber mill in Shingleton.

Chatham Cooperative Observer (CEFM4) observed 8 inches of snow between 0800 1/28 and 1/29. Impacts for this event began on 1/27, when it was also reported that a hill along M-28 in Wetmore was closed because a traffic incident involving a semi. Frequent whiteouts were also report…

Light to moderate lake effect snow combined with windy conditions and cold temperatures resulted in low visibility on the 23rd. State Highway M-28 was closed west of Munising due to whiteout conditions. Key impacts: transportation delays, road closures.

Wind chills as low as -40F were observed on the 23rd and 24th, and as low as -25F on the 25th and 26th. Key impacts: school and business closures.

Near-blizzard conditions were reported at KSAW. The combination of heavy snow and blowing snow shut down M-28 between Harvey and Munising. Key impacts: Transportation delays, road closures.

Wind chill of -24F reported at the Munising ASOS KP59 at 0456 EST, 1/20.

Visibility down to 1/4 mile at Sawyer Regional Airport (KSAW). Munising ASOS KP53 reported frequent gusts over 40 mph and as high as 50 mph. Winds were highest near the lakeshore. Munising delayed the start of school by 3 hours. Key Impacts: Transportation delays.

An inch or two of wet snow along with rainfall of over an inch resulted in slushy roads around Alger County. The Munising School District closed due to the slushy conditions. Key impacts: Transportation delays, school closures.

Light freezing rain resulted in a glaze of ice on untreated surfaces. Key impacts: transportation delays, school closures.

A brief period of heavy snow resulted in 4 to 8 inches of accumulation and snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. Key impacts: transportation delays, school closures.

There were blizzard conditions with frequent wind gusts of 40-55 mph and snowfall of 8-20 in Alger County. The Munising ASOS (KP53) peak gust was 64 mph. Around 10% of customers lost power. Road closures included M-28 due to whiteout conditions. Key Impacts: Very difficult to imp…

Up to 4 inches of snow, combined with temperatures plummeting below freezing, resulted in slippery roadways from the evening of the 18th through the morning of the 19th. Key impacts: travel delays, school closures.

Heavy snowfall totaling 6 to 18 inches along with winds gusting 40 to 60 miles per hour resulted in blizzard conditions. Key impacts: transportation delays, traffic accidents, downed trees and wires, business closures.

The first accumulating snowfall of the year brought 4 to 12 inches to the area, heaviest over the western portion of the county. Key impacts: transportation delays.

Facebook comment with picture showed hail ranging from marble to quarter size.

Hail ranged from pea to quarter size.

Heavy rain resulted in flooding along the Anna River late Monday night into early Tuesday morning. Driveway bridges and a private road were damaged or washed out along M-94, and railroad tracks were washed out between Munising Junction and Munising. Time estimated from radar.

An approximate 75-foot section of the paved trail in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Park was washed out the evening of April 28th from recent heavy rainfall and seasonal snow melt. Time estimated from radar.

A final round of freezing rain and sleet turned to snow on the 30th, with 8 to 14 inches of snowfall before it ended early on the 31st. The additional snow exacerbated travel impacts from the earlier freezing rain. Key impacts: travel delays, school and business closures.

Up to 0.5 inches of ice accumulation was reported, which led to impassable roads, numerous downed trees and lines, and power outages. Warming shelters were established for those who lost power, and some schools and businesses remained closed into Monday, March 31. Key impacts: tr…

Lake effect snowfall totals ranged from 4 to 10 inches, with the highest totals in the western part of the county near Deerton. Key impacts: travel delays.

Heavy wet snow of 4 to 10 inches accumulated, resulting in treacherous travel conditions. Key impacts: travel delays, traffic accidents, school and business closures.

The Munising Lakeshore ASOS KP53 reported wind gusts of over 35 mph from 0956EST on the 5th to 0356EST on the 6th with only a couple of brief drops below 35 mph. Visibility data is unavailable but various media and social media reports indicate low visibility. Storm total snowfal…

Moderate to heavy snow and high winds resulted in blizzard conditions during the afternoon and evening of February 28th. Winds gusted as high as 59 mph at Munising, and 3-11 inches of snow occurred. M-28 was closed between Harvey and Munising for 11 hours starting at 2100 EST on …

Moderate to heavy snow and high winds resulted in blizzard conditions during the afternoon and evening of the 28th. Winds gusted as high as 59 mph at Munising, and 3-11 inches of snow occurred. M-28 was closed between Harvey and Munising for 11 hours starting at 2100 EST on the 2…

Periods of lake effect snow occurred between the 16th and the 20th. The most severe conditions occurred on the 16th and 17th when the combination of heavy snow and winds gusting to 40 mph resulted in limited visibility and a road closure on M-28 between Shingleton and Seney. Muni…

Bitter cold wind chills in the 25 below to 30 below zero range were observed throughout much of the period. Schools were closed throughout Alger County on the 20th and 21st due to the bitter cold.

The Michigan State Police closed Highway M-28 from Kawbawgam Road in Harvey to West Shore Drive in Munising due to whiteout conditions in lake effect snow and blowing snow. The road was closed for more than four hours and then reopened just before 6 pm.

The observer near Deerton measured 5.3 inches of snow over 24 hours.

The observer in Munising measured a two-day lake effect snow total of 10.7 inches.

The Munising observer measured 17.8 inches of lake effect snow over less than a 36-hour period. The Grand Marais observer measured 8 inches of snow over the 24-hour period ending the morning of the 12th. Northwest winds gusting over 35 mph at times also caused considerable blowin…

Observers from Forest Lake to Munising and Wetmore measured between 4 and 7 inches of lake enhanced snow over a 24-hour period. Northwest winds gusting as high as 45 mph at times also caused considerable blowing and drifting of snow, resulting in occasional whiteout conditions. S…

Observers from Deerton to Munising measured between 4 to 6 inches of lake enhanced snow over an approximate 12-hour period.

Observers in Munising and near Forest Lakes measured just over 10 inches of lake effect snow while Wetmore received 8 inches in 24 hours.

The observer in Munising measured 22 inches of lake effect snow in 48 hours.

The Grand Marais GLOS station measured a peak north wind gust of 63 mph. Some sporadic power outages were reported in the area.

There was a Facebook report of penny sized hail in Munising.

There were reports on social media of minor street flooding on Onota and Maple Streets in Munising during the evening of the 15th.

Image of half dollar sized hail in Chatham from a social media report.

Law enforcement dispatch reported a downed power line that was smoking along Hayward Road near Sixteen Mile Lake in Alger County.

Report via Facebook southeast of Forest Lake of between dime and quarter-sized hail along with 0.59 inches of rain. Time of the report was estimated from radar.

Estimated golf ball sized hail was observed along National Forest Service Highway 13 along the Alger-Schoolcraft County line.

A storm survey of damage six miles northeast of Round Lake in Alger County revealed straight-line wind damage with several one to two-foot diameter trees uprooted or snapped off 15-20 feet above the ground. Maximum wind gusts were estimated to be between 75-80 mph. Half dollar si…