Winter storm returning to Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsula. Here's when
A sprawling, late-season winter storm is set to deliver a crippling blow to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula starting Saturday night.
Forecasts indicate the potential for up to 3 feet of snow, severe icing and even blizzard conditions that will bring travel to a standstill. Confidence is high for a major, potentially record-breaking event stretching from Saturday evening, March 14, through Monday morning, March 16.
Anyone with weekend travel plans heading north needs to prepare for potentially hazardous driving conditions and the potential for power outages.
The Timeline
- Saturday night: Precipitation will push into the western Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Michigan, quickly intensifying and transitioning to heavy snow and mixed precipitation overnight.
- Sunday: The storm reaches its absolute peak. Heavy, wind-driven snow will hammer the eastern U.P. and the snowbelt regions of the northern Lower Peninsula.
- Monday: The system begins to pull away, and snow will taper off by Monday afternoon. However, strong winds will continue to cause significant blowing and drifting, keeping rural roads highly hazardous.
The heaviest snow will target the east and south central Upper Peninsula as well as the higher terrain of the northern Lower Peninsula. A widespread swath of 15 to 24 inches is expected across the impacted zones.
Localized amounts in the highest elevations of the northern Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula could exceed 30 inches. During the height of the storm on Sunday, intense banding will push snowfall rates to 1 to 3 inches per hour.
Sustained winds and gusts of 40-50 mph, with localized gusts pushing 60 mph near the Great Lakes shorelines, will combine with the heavy snow to create whiteout conditions. While the Upper Peninsula will primarily deal with massive snow totals, a highly dangerous setup is taking shape just south of the main snow band across the northern Lower Peninsula.
A prolonged period of freezing rain and sleet is forecast to mix in along the southern edge of the system.
Significant ice accumulations between a quarter-inch and 0.4 inches are possible. This amount of heavy glaze on trees, combined with gusty winds, will likely snap limbs and down power lines, leading to widespread power outages before the precipitation even transitions back over to snow. This is a high-impact, long-duration winter storm.
Travel across northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula from late Saturday through midday Monday is strongly discouraged.