NORTHERN MICHIGAN – Northern Michigan residents experienced a historic snowfall over the holiday weekend, reaching record-breaking snowfall levels in some areas.

According to Sean Christensen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Gaylord, this weather event was triggered by a strong lake-effect snowstorm that brought significant amounts of snow to the region.

“The highest daily value we observed was 24.8 inches on Friday, Nov. 29, here in Gaylord,” Christensen said. “To put that in perspective, the average total snowfall for the entire month of November is just 18 inches in this area. This single day far exceeded our monthly average, making it a truly extraordinary event.”

Snow totals varied across the region due to the local nature of lake effect snow. In Gaylord, the four-day total since Thanksgiving reached 43.7 inches. Meanwhile, Petoskey recorded a comparatively modest 13.2 inches.

Christensen said lake effect snow occurs when cold air flows over the warmer waters of the Great Lakes, creating bands of snow that deposit large amounts of snow in narrow, localized areas.

“Unlike a widespread snowstorm, where snow amounts are fairly consistent across a region, lake effect snow results in significant variation,” he said.

Despite the snowfall, the impact on local communities was relatively manageable. Christensen confirmed that there were no reports of widespread power outages, although there were isolated outages in the Bellaire area.

“Lake effect snow tends to be light and fluffy, which is fortunate because heavy, wet snow would have caused much bigger problems,” Christensen said.

While this event set records, the region is bracing for even more snow later this week.

“We are tracking a smaller system that could bring additional lake-effect snow,” Christensen said. “A few centimeters more could be visible in some areas, but it is unlikely to reach the totals we just experienced.”

As for whether northern Michigan can expect a snowier winter than usual, Christensen said long-term trends for lake effect snow are difficult to predict.

“It is difficult to draw conclusions about increasing snowfall from a single event. However, we are constantly monitoring and analyzing data to better understand these phenomena,” he said.

The National Weather Service relies on advanced tools and expertise to predict significant snowfall events.

“We use an ensemble of weather models as well as years of local knowledge to accurately predict these conditions,” Christensen said. “Our meteorologists have observed many of these events and know what to look for.”

While the snow may have made travel difficult for those heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday, area ski resorts enjoyed the new snow and several were able to open over the weekend for the first day of the ski season.

– Contact reporter Annie Doyle at (231) 675-0099 and [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: How much did it snow in Michigan this weekend? Record sums reported