A powerful winter storm hammered Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Thanksgiving Day, burying some areas under nearly 3 feet of snow and leaving thousands without power as howling winds created dangerous blizzard conditions.
The intense lake-effect system transformed holiday plans across the region, with a blizzard warning remaining in effect in Alger County, east of Marquette, until 7 p.m. Thursday night. Meteorologists warned that up to 13 additional inches of snow could accumulate west of Munising before the system begins to weaken.
Record-Breaking Accumulations
Lily Chapman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Marquette, measured 15 inches of snow at her office Thursday morning. But that was nothing compared to what residents near Bessemer were experiencing.
“It varies pretty quickly depending on things like elevation or where any of our stronger bands have been able to line up,” Chapman explained, as reports from areas 113 miles east of Duluth indicated snowfall between 18 and 28 inches.
The most dramatic totals came from just across the Wisconsin border. About 10 miles west of Bessemer near Montreal, Wisconsin, weather officials recorded a staggering 33 inches of snow in one location early Thursday morning.
Elevation played a crucial role in the extraordinary accumulation. “So you not only have the lake effect, you’ve got the lift of the terrain. So that area can get some pretty interesting snow totals like this event,” according to meteorologists tracking the system.
The Lake Effect Machine
What makes these storms so potent? Lake effect snow forms when cold air from Canada sweeps across the warmer Great Lakes waters, creating thin cloud bands capable of dumping 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour — sometimes even more.
The phenomenon affects areas downwind of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario, and Erie, with the most dramatic impacts typically reserved for communities in what meteorologists call “snow belts.” These narrow corridors can see drastically different conditions than areas just miles away.
Farther east, Buffalo, New York — no stranger to lake effect events — reported between 2 and 3 inches of snow on Thanksgiving morning, with a lake effect snow warning remaining in effect until early Saturday.
Power Outages and Dangerous Conditions
The storm’s impact extended beyond just deep snow. Fierce winds gusting up to 45 mph created dangerous snow drifts and knocked out power to thousands across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
How many lost electricity? The Upper Peninsula Power Company confirmed over 1,000 outages near Houghton, about 100 miles west of Marquette, on Thursday morning. Additional outages were reported by Consumers Energy near Holland on Lake Michigan’s coast, approximately 170 miles west of Detroit.
For those hoping for a quick reprieve, Thursday’s conditions remained treacherous across much of the region, with near-whiteout conditions making travel nearly impossible in the hardest-hit areas.
More Snow on the Way
Just as the lake effect machine begins to ease up Friday, a completely different storm system threatens to blanket the Great Plains and Midwest with fresh snow heading into the weekend.
Chicago residents should prepare for up to six inches of accumulated snow through Sunday, forecasters predict, as the secondary system moves across the region.
For Thanksgiving travelers hoping to return home this weekend, the one-two punch of weather systems couldn’t come at a worse time. Holiday traffic combined with deteriorating road conditions will likely create significant delays across multiple states.
As the lake effect bands finally drift eastward, they leave behind communities transformed by one of the most significant November snow events in recent years — a reminder that for all our modern conveniences, nature still dictates the terms of Thanksgiving travel across America’s northern tier.
