Thanksgiving Snowfall: Michigan's Great Lakes Region Faces Blizzard Conditions

Fri Dec 05 2025 06:13:06 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Residents in Michigan's Great Lakes region prepare for snow-heavy Thanksgiving as a severe weather system continues to impact the area with high winds and blizzard warnings.

As Thanksgiving approaches, residents of Michigan's Great Lakes region are bracing for a winter storm that has already begun to blanket the Upper Peninsula with substantial snowfall. A blizzard warning remains active in Alger County, with predictions of up to 13 inches more of snow in some locations. The National Weather Service reports extreme conditions have made travel hazardous, with winds reaching 45 mph and resulting in power outages across the region.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Residents of the Great Lakes region are in for a snowy Thanksgiving as a weather system continues to drop precipitation across the area, particularly in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Snowfall that began Wednesday persisted Thursday with winds and snow bands out of the north and northwest. A blizzard warning is in effect in Alger County, east of Marquette, Michigan, until 7 p.m. Thursday night.

The heaviest snowfall is expected to hit west of the town of Munising, with up to 13 inches (33 centimeters) of additional snow accumulation possible. The snow bands will likely taper off starting in the western counties of the Upper Peninsula as the day progresses.

Lily Chapman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Marquette, reported that 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow were measured at her office Thursday morning. Near Bessemer, Michigan, about 113 miles (182 kilometers) east of Duluth, Minnesota, reports indicated snow totals between 18 to 28 inches (46 to 71 centimeters).

“It varies pretty quickly depending on things like elevation or where any of our stronger bands have been able to line up,” Chapman acknowledged.

What is lake effect snow?

Lake effect snow is characterized by thin bands of clouds that can produce heavy snowfall. This phenomenon occurs when cold air from Canada is blown over the warmer waters of the Great Lakes. The warm air pushes the moisture high into the atmosphere, leading to significant snowfall localized to specific areas.

Such weather patterns significantly affect Michigan, Ohio, and New York, although similar occurrences are possible over other large bodies of water.

In northern Wisconsin, for instance, the National Weather Service reported an astounding 33 inches (84 centimeters) of snow early Thursday morning due to favorable terrain lifting the clouds.

Travel Warnings for Thanksgiving

The bands of lake effect snow can cause rapid and severe whiteouts, severely impacting driving conditions especially across the Upper Peninsula. Thursday’s travel was complicated by low visibility.

Power outages impacted over 1,000 customers near Houghton, Michigan, due to the storm conditions, with reports of similar outages on the coast of Lake Michigan. The NWS warned of slick roads and anticipated conditions where two inches of snow could fall near the lakeshore.

The snowfall is expected to ease from west to east as Friday approaches, though another weather system over the weekend could bring a few more inches to the Upper Peninsula. Snowfall was reported around two to three inches near Buffalo, New York, with a lake effect snow warning set to continue through Saturday morning.