Luce storm history

A 14-year-old Toledo, OH boy drowned in Lake Superior on the 24th after being caught in a rip current at a beach near the Lake Superior State Forest Campground. A 15-year-old was also caught in the rip current but was able to swim to the safety of shallow water. The Coast Guard, …

Moderate snow and poor road conditions contributed to a fatal two-vehicle crash near McMillan in Lakefield Township on the morning of the 18th. At 9:50 am MSP troopers responded to a two-vehicle crash near the intersection of Highway M-28 and County Road 444 in Lakefield Township…

A house fire caused by a lightning strike resulted in the death of a 79-year-old man. The fire was reported by a storm spotter located one mile away, and it was confirmed by local media.

Snow-covered roads were blamed on a fatal accident which occurred on Highway M-117, south of County Road 458 in Pentland Township. A band of moderate snow moved through the area around the time of the accident. A 1996 Chevy pickup truck slid off the snow-covered road and struck a…

Lightning from a line of thunderstorms ignited The Duck Lake Wildfire 14 miles north of Newberry on the evening of the 20th. Strong south winds gusting over 30 mph on the 24th quickly fanned the fire and caused it to spread rapidly toward the Lake Superior shore forcing mandatory…

There were blizzard conditions with frequent wind gusts of 35-40 mph and snowfall of 8-18 in Luce County. The Newberry AWOS (KERY) reported a peak gust of 41 mph. Up to around 25% of customers without power. Key Impacts: Very difficult to impossible travel, power outages.

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

The first accumulating snowfall of the year brought 2 to 6 inches to the area, heaviest over the northern portion. Key impacts: transportation delays.

Several rounds of snow and sleet occurred from the evening of the 28th through the early morning of the 31st, resulting in slippery travel conditions. Key impacts: travel delays.

Heavy wet snow of 6 to 8 inches accumulated, resulting in treacherous travel conditions. Key impacts: travel delays, traffic accidents, school and business closures, a few power outages.

Snow and windy conditions resulted in reduced visibility and slippery travel conditions on the 5th. Storm total snowfall ranged from 4 to 8 inches and winds gusted as high as 30 mph. Key impacts: travel delays.

Moderate to heavy snow and high winds resulted in blizzard conditions during the afternoon and evening of February 28th. The snow wound down early on March 1st. Key impacts: transportation delays, traffic accidents, road closures, scattered power outages, school and event cancell…

Moderate to heavy snow and high winds resulted in blizzard conditions during the afternoon and evening of the 28th.

The observing station 7 miles north of McMillan measured 16.5 inches of lake effect snow over the 48-hour period ending on the morning of 29th. The observer in Newberry measured 8.7 inches of lake effect snow for the 24-hour period ending on the morning of the 29th.

The spotter station 7 miles north of McMillan measured 7.5 inches of lake effect snow over 24 hours.

The station 7 miles north of McMillan measured 11 inches of lake effect snow in 24 hours.

Bitter cold wind chills in the 25 below to nearly 35 below zero range were observed throughout much of the period. Tahquamenon Schools were closed on the 20th and 21st due to the bitter cold.

The observer seven miles north of McMillan measured 5.5 inches of lake effect snow in 24 hours.

The CocoRaHS station seven miles north of McMillan measured 8 inches of lake effect snow in 24 hours.

The observer in Newberry measured 3 inches of lake effect snow over 24 hours. Northwest winds gusting over 25 mph also caused some blowing snow and reduced visibility. Tahquamenon Schools were closed on the 12th due to the snow and blowing snow.

Lake enhanced snowfall totals over a 30-hour period included 10 inches at Pine Stump Junction and 7.5 inches at McMillan. Northwest winds gusting as high as 30 mph also caused areas of blowing and drifting of snow, resulting in occasional whiteout conditions. Tahquamenon Schools …

Natures Kennel seven miles north of McMillan received 12.5 inches of lake effect snow over the two-day period ending on the morning of the 2nd. The kennel measured a four-day lake effect snowfall total of 40 inches which was confirmed via Facebook comments. There was also a publi…

Nature's Kennel 7 miles north of McMillan measured 27.5 inches of lake effect snow over 72 hours. Occasional power outages were reported from the heavy snowfall from McMillan and Newberry to Pine Stump Junction.

Observers from McMillan to Newberry measured between 5 and 8 inches over a 24-hour period.

Report via Facebook with a picture of ping pong sized hail at McMillan.

There was a Facebook report and picture of ping pong sized hail southwest of Dollarville.

There was a Facebook report and pictures of hailstones ranging in size from quarter to ping pong ball or 1 to 1.5 inches six miles east of Helmer.

Half dollar sized hail was observed in McMillan and the power was out from 3:30 to 8:00 pm.

There was a Facebook report and video showing falling hail two miles south of Newberry. Hailstones ranged from pea-sized to half dollar size.

A spotter near McMillan reported penny-sized hail, windy conditions and a power outage.

Report from mPING of penny-sized hail three miles south of Newberry.

The Newberry Country Club/Woodland Grill shared a statement and pictures on Facebook showing numerous trees down across the golf course. Outdoor patio furniture was also blown down the hill away from the building.

There was a Facebook report with two pictures of tree damage from thunderstorm winds south of Newberry. One picture showed a fairly large tree knocked down close to a home. The other picture showed a larger branch broken off a tree.

There was a report of multiple trees down near the Highway M-28 and Highway M-123 intersection. A power pole was damaged by a tree on the line. Around 1300 customers were without power for roughly 3 to 5 hours.

Facebook report of a tree down on Highway M-28 south of Newberry. The picture showed the tree blocking part of the road.

There was a Facebook report and picture of a tree down in front of a house near Newberry.

There was a Facebook report and picture of a fireworks canopy blown over an estimated 25 to 50 feet at the corner of M-123 and M-28 south of Newberry.

There was a social media report of 4 inches of wet snow six miles south of Dollarville in approximately six hours. There was a Facebook report of 7 inches of snow in 24 hours north of McMillan.

Social media snowfall total reports in less than 24 hours included 7.5 inches near Pine Stump Junction and 7.0 inches at Dollarville. North winds gusting between 35 and 40 mph at times also resulted in blowing and drifting of snow and occasional whiteout conditions at times.

Report on Facebook from the North Store Follow Me Outfitters page up to 12 inches of lake effect snow in 24 hours at Pine Stump Junction. Radar data showed the meso low feature moving onshore on the 12th followed by a cold front bringing multiple persisting lake effect bands.

Observer 48-hour snowfall reports included 12 inches near Dollarville and 9.4 inches in Newberry.

Luce County 911/Emergency Manager Facebook posts reported that the power was out on the northwest side of Big Manistique Lake. Two cell towers on the north side of the lake are also out. Time of the wind damage was estimated from radar.

There were social media reports of 6 inches of wet snow in 24 hours at Pine Stump Junction and eight miles north of McMillan.

A few secondary roads were closed north of Newberry due to snowmelt runoff over the roads.

An estimated one-quarter inch of ice accumulation from freezing rain occurred over Luce County on the morning of the 5th. Utility companies also reported many downed trees and power lines resulting in power outages impacting several thousand customers.

Social media snowfall reports from the morning of the 1st included 12 inches at Halfway Lake and Newberry. The heavy snow combined with strong northeast winds gusting as high as 45 mph caused considerable drifting of snow and widespread power outages across portions of Luce Count…

Social media reports of heavy snow within an approximate ten-hour period included 12-13 inches in the Newberry area and 8-9 inches eight miles north of McMillan.

There were public reports of 8 to 9 inches of snow in the Newberry area in less than 18 hours. Tahquamenon Area Schools were on a two-hour delay on the 28th as plow crews were cleaning up in the aftermath of snowfall.

The spotter at Pine Stump Junction measured 4 inches of lake enhanced snow in approximately 12 hours.

There was a Facebook report of an estimated 5.5 inches of lake enhanced snow eight miles north of McMillan which occurred over an approximate nine-hour period.