Overview
A major winter storm impacted the Great Lakes region on Friday Jan 12 2024 into Saturday Jan 13 2024. Precipitation quickly overspread southeast Michigan during the mid afternoon hours of Friday as the main low (~981 MB) reached Chicago in the early evening hours. Just enough mild air near Lake Erie/Detroit River caused some melting snow/rain. Otherwise, despite temperatures mainly 32-34 degrees, heavy wet snow was the predominant precipitation type during the late afternoon into the early evening hours. This was due to very strong forcing, which led to visibility down around a quarter of a mile in the heavy snow, with even thundersnow reported in and around the Detroit Metro Area. Storm totals reached 4-8 inches across the Detroit Metro Area, as well as the Tri-Cities region, with 1-5 inches elsewhere. Precipitation did taper off in the mid to late evening, and fell in the form of rain south of I-69 where the total liquid equivalent ranged from 0.5-1.25”.
Due to the heavy wet nature of the snow, widespread tree limbs came down in several counties (Oakland/Lapeer to name a few), which caused power outages to well over 100,000 customers at the peak of the storm. Easterly winds also reached 30-40 mph ahead of the low, with southwest wind gusts topping out 40-55 mph south of M-59 Saturday morning as the low exited northeast.
Snow Totals
Note: Snowfall totals are from the early afternoon on Friday, January 12th through 11 AM Saturday, January 13th.
Public Information Statement...Summary
National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI
1101 AM EST Sat Jan 13 2024
STORM TOTAL SNOW REPORTS
Location Snowfall Duration
(Inches) (Hours) Lat Lon
...Bay County...
2 E Bay City M 5.2 19 43.59N 83.85W
Bay City M 5.6 17 43.59N 83.89W
Auburn M 5.8 16 43.60N 84.08W
...Genesee County...
Flint M 2.0 17 43.02N 83.69W
4 N Burton M 3.5 18 43.05N 83.62W
Clio M 4.0 19 43.18N 83.74W
...Huron County...
Bad Axe M 3.9 16 43.80N 83.00W
Port Austin M 5.0 18 44.04N 83.00W
...Lenawee County...
Morenci M 4.0 20 41.72N 84.22W
...Livingston County...
Howell E 2.3 18 42.61N 83.94W
...Macomb County...
Roseville M 2.3 24 42.50N 82.94W
Shelby Township M 4.5 18 42.67N 83.03W
Mount Clemens M 4.9 12 42.60N 82.88W
4 NW Richmond M 5.9 18 42.85N 82.81W
...Midland County...
4 SW Midland M 5.5 16 43.58N 84.29W
Nw Midland E 7.0 17 43.62N 84.23W
Oil City M 7.4 16 43.61N 84.59W
2 E Midland M 8.0 19 43.62N 84.19W
...Monroe County... Dundee M 3.0 19 41.96N 83.66W ...Oakland County... Farmington M 4.0 19 42.46N 83.38W 4 E White Lake M 7.9 18 42.65N 83.43W 1 E White Lake M 8.0 18 42.65N 83.50W Ortonville M 8.5 18 42.85N 83.44W ...Saginaw County... 8 NW Saginaw M 5.6 16 43.50N 84.06W ...Shiawassee County... Durand M 3.0 18 42.91N 83.99W New Lothrop M 5.0 20 43.12N 83.97W ...St. Clair County... Lakeport M 3.0 17 43.12N 82.50W ...Tuscola County... Cass City M 2.0 16 43.60N 83.18W Vassar M 2.0 16 43.37N 83.58W Caro M 3.2 16 43.49N 83.40W ...Washtenaw County... Ann Arbor M 6.3 18 42.28N 83.73W ...Wayne County... Grosse Pointe Farms M 1.5 19 42.41N 82.89W Wyandotte M 4.2 19 42.21N 83.15W Dearborn M 4.4 19 42.31N 83.21W 2 SE Romulus M 4.7 18 42.20N 83.34W M = Measured E = Estimated
Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.
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Storm Total Snowfall |
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National Snowfall Analysis: 24-hour accumulation ending 2024-01-13 12 UTC Courtesy of NOHRSC |
Wind Reports
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac MI 532 PM EST Sat Jan 13 2024 ...Here are the highest wind reports received over the past 24 hours... Location Speed Time/Date Lat/Lon Detroit Willow 53 MPH 0601 AM 01/13 42.23N/83.53W Detroit Wayne 52 MPH 0936 AM 01/13 42.23N/83.33W Ann Arbor 47 MPH 0650 AM 01/13 42.22N/83.73W Pontiac 46 MPH 0222 PM 01/13 42.67N/83.42W Detroit City Air 44 MPH 0507 AM 01/13 42.40N/83.02W Gregory 44 MPH 0445 PM 01/13 42.38N/84.01W Oxford 41 MPH 0650 AM 01/13 42.83N/83.28W Detroit Grosse I 40 MPH 0635 AM 01/13 42.10N/83.15W Grosse Ile Middle School 40 MPH 0850 AM 01/13 42.14N/83.14W Fort Gratiot, MI 39 MPH 1248 PM 01/13 43.01N/82.42W Saginaw Browne 39 MPH 0259 PM 01/13 43.43N/83.87W Saginaw 38 MPH 0130 PM 01/13 43.53N/84.08W Clawson 38 MPH 0640 AM 01/13 42.54N/83.16W Troy Oakland 38 MPH 0335 PM 01/13 42.55N/83.18W Port Huron 36 MPH 0900 PM 01/12 43.01N/82.42W Owosso 36 MPH 0235 PM 01/13 43.00N/84.13W Canton 35 MPH 0645 AM 01/13 42.31N/83.46W Peck 35 MPH 0255 PM 01/13 43.30N/82.79W Minden City 35 MPH 0317 PM 01/13 43.69N/82.77W Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official. $$
Photos
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North Clarkston, MI Credit: Marcie Lemieux |
North Clarkston, MI Credit: Marcie Lemieux |
North Clarkston, MI Credit: Marcie Lemieux |
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Rochester Hills, MI Credit: @MiWxAnthony |
Rochester Hills, MI Credit: @MiWxAnthony |
Oakland Township, MI Credit: Ryan Jake Jakubowski |
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Oakland Township, MI Credit: Ryan Jake Jakubowski |
Oakland Township, MI Credit: Ryan Jake Jakubowski |
Shields, MI Credit: WNEM |
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Midland, MI Credit: Tanner McCanham |
Midland, MI Credit: Tanner McCanham |
Wyandotte, MI Credit: Josh Halasy |
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Wyandotte, MI Credit: Josh Halasy |
Wyandotte, MI Credit: Josh Halasy |
Wyandotte, MI Credit: Josh Halasy |
Radar
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Radar: NEXRAD mosaic base reflectivity radar loop from 1245 PM January 12, 2024 through 11 AM January 13, 2024.
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Environment
The early evening segment of this winter storm came in with a burst of wind driven heavy/wet snow complete with several lightning strikes during the peak. The enhanced lift and instability was driven by a strong mid level circulation on the mesoscale which rapidly accelerated moisture transport in phase with the occlusion of the parent mid level low back toward Chicago. This strong occlusion lifted north through southeast Michigan during the late evening and overnight hours, allowing precipitation to taper off.
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Figure 1: WPC Surface Analysis Valid Jan 13 2024 00 UTC |
Figure 2: NOS/CO-OPS Water Level Chart at Toledo |
Figure 3: SPC Mesoanalysis Precipitable Water Valid Jan 12 2024 21 UTC |
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Figure 4: SPC Mesoanalysis 500mb Map Valid Jan 12 2024 21 UTC |
Figure 5: SPC Mesoanalysis 250-850mb Diff Divergence Valid Jan 12 2024 21 UTC |
Figure 6: GLM 1 Hour Lightning Plot valid ~ 23-00z JAN13 & infrared satellite (cloud-top-phase) |
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Figure 7: SPC Mesoanalysis 2-6km Max Lapse Rate Valid Jan 13 2024 00 UTC |
Figure 8: NOHRSC 24 Hour Scaled Snow Precipitation (Liquid Equivalent) Valid |
Figure 9: DTX Upper Air Sounding Valid Jan 12 2024 12 UTC |
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Figure 10: DTX Upper Air Sounding Valid Jan 12 2024 18 UTC |
Figure 11: DTX Upper Air Sounding Valid Jan 13 2024 00 UTC |
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