Here's the snowfall map and specific amounts from our NWS spotters. Here in northern Livonia, I received 6.2" total with some foot drifts.
Snowfall totals from the December 26th, 2012, Winter Storm
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...STORM TOTALS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
1053 AM EST THU DEC 27 2012
THE NORTHWEST FLANK OF A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM IMPACTED POST
HOLIDAY TRAVEL ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN ON DECEMBER 26TH.
WIDESPREAD SNOW LIFTED ACROSS THE MICHIGAN-OHIO STATELINE DURING THE
LATE MORNING HOURS...ARRIVING OVER PORTIONS OF THE I 69 CORRIDOR
DURING THE MID AFTERNOON. WHILE THE STORM SYSTEM TRACKED THROUGH THE
TENNESSEE VALLEY TRANSFERRING ENERGY TO THE EAST COAST DURING THE
AFTERNOON...AN AXIS OF ENHANCED MOISTURE BECAME ANCHORED OVER MUCH
OF SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN THROUGHOUT THE EVENING. BY DAWNBREAK OF
DECEMBER 27TH...A GENERAL 4 TO 7 INCHES OF SNOWFALL FELL SOUTHEAST
OF A LINE FROM BAD AXE TO MANCHESTER...WITH AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF 10
INCHES COMMON FOR LOCATIONS IN EASTERN ST CLAIR AND SANILAC COUNTIES
ADJACENT TO LAKE HURON.
STORM TOTAL SNOW REPORTS
LOCATION SNOWFALL DURATION
(INCHES) (HOURS) LAT LON
...BAY COUNTY...
2 NE AUBURN M 0.9 14 43.62N 84.05W
...GENESEE COUNTY...
LINDEN M 3.0 14 42.82N 83.78W
BURTON M 4.0 14 43.00N 83.62W
GOODRICH M 4.4 14 42.92N 83.51W
FLINT M 5.0 14 43.02N 83.69W
4 N BURTON M 6.0 14 43.05N 83.62W
...HURON COUNTY...
PORT HOPE M 0.8 14 43.94N 82.72W
5 NNW FILION M 1.1 14 43.96N 83.04W
PORT AUSTIN M 2.0 14 44.04N 83.00W
BAD AXE M 4.5 14 43.80N 83.00W
...LAPEER COUNTY...
LUM M 4.5 14 43.10N 83.15W
LAPEER M 4.6 14 43.05N 83.32W
NORTH BRANCH M 5.8 14 43.23N 83.19W
...LENAWEE COUNTY...
MORENCI M 3.4 14 41.72N 84.22W
TECUMSEH M 3.4 14 42.01N 83.94W
ADRIAN E 3.5 14 41.90N 84.04W
2 WNW TIPTON M 3.8 14 42.03N 84.10W
1 SW BLISSFIELD M 4.0 14 41.82N 83.88W
...LIVINGSTON COUNTY...
HOWELL M 3.5 14 42.61N 83.94W
...MACOMB COUNTY...
1 NNW UTICA M 4.9 14 42.64N 83.03W
SSE SHELBY TOWNSHIP M 5.2 14 42.67N 83.03W
4 NNW RICHMOND M 7.7 14 42.86N 82.78W
...MONROE COUNTY...
MONROE M 2.7 14 41.92N 83.39W
MONROE M 2.8 14 41.92N 83.39W
3 SW MONROE M 3.8 14 41.89N 83.43W
3 SW MONROE M 3.8 14 41.89N 83.43W
DUNDEE M 4.5 14 41.96N 83.66W
...OAKLAND COUNTY...
WEST BLOOMFIELD M 4.0 14 42.57N 83.38W
2 SE ROYAL OAK M 4.3 14 42.49N 83.13W
HOLLY M 4.4 14 42.80N 83.62W
2 SE HOLLY M 4.5 14 42.78N 83.59W
FARMINGTON M 4.5 14 42.46N 83.38W
BLOOMFIELD HILLS M 6.0 14 42.58N 83.25W
2 NW WATERFORD M 6.2 14 42.68N 83.42W
4 SW MILFORD M 6.5 14 42.54N 83.66W
5 ESE HOLLY E 7.0 14 42.78N 83.53W
CLARKSTON M 7.0 14 42.74N 83.42W
MADISON HEIGHTS M 7.0 14 42.50N 83.10W
WHITE LAKE M 7.3 14 42.65N 83.50W
3 S LAKEVILLE M 7.8 14 42.78N 83.15W
3 SW LAKE ORION M 8.8 14 42.75N 83.29W
...SAGINAW COUNTY...
5 S MERRILL M 0.5 12 43.34N 84.34W
2 E MERRILL M 1.0 14 43.41N 84.30W
SAGINAW M 1.5 14 43.42N 83.95W
CHESANING M 1.6 14 43.18N 84.12W
...SANILAC COUNTY...
SANDUSKY M 4.0 14 43.42N 82.83W
MARLETTE M 4.5 14 43.33N 83.08W
CROSWELL M 7.0 14 43.27N 82.62W
LEXINGTON E 7.0 14 43.27N 82.53W
LEXINGTON M 7.0 14 43.27N 82.53W
...SHIAWASSEE COUNTY...
OWOSSO M 1.0 14 43.00N 84.18W
2 NE CORUNNA M 2.2 14 43.00N 84.09W
DURAND M 3.0 14 42.91N 83.99W
...ST. CLAIR COUNTY...
1 NNW YALE M 6.5 14 43.14N 82.80W
2 W ALGONAC E 6.5 14 42.62N 82.57W
MARINE CITY E 7.0 14 42.71N 82.50W
3 E RICHMOND M 7.7 14 42.81N 82.70W
2 W PORT HURON M 11.1 14 42.99N 82.47W
3 W LAKEPORT M 14.0 14 43.12N 82.56W
...TUSCOLA COUNTY...
CARO M 3.0 14 43.49N 83.40W
VASSAR M 3.5 14 43.37N 83.58W
...WASHTENAW COUNTY...
SALINE M 2.8 14 42.18N 83.78W
1 W ANN ARBOR M 5.5 14 42.28N 83.75W
2 NNW ANN ARBOR M 5.5 14 42.30N 83.75W
MANCHESTER M 5.6 14 42.15N 84.04W
ANN ARBOR M 5.8 14 42.28N 83.73W
SE ANN ARBOR M 6.0 14 42.28N 83.73W
2 WNW ANN ARBOR M 6.3 14 42.29N 83.77W
SALEM M 6.4 14 42.41N 83.58W
CHELSEA M 6.5 14 42.31N 84.02W
ANN ARBOR M 6.9 14 42.28N 83.73W
...WAYNE COUNTY...
4 NE DEARBORN M 3.5 14 42.35N 83.16W
DEARBORN M 3.5 14 42.31N 83.21W
N LIVONIA M 6.2 14 42.40N 83.37W
2 NNW LIVONIA M 3.8 14 42.42N 83.39W NORTHVILLE M 5.2 14 42.44N 83.49W GARDEN CITY M 5.4 14 42.33N 83.33W ROMULUS M 6.2 14 42.22N 83.37W RIVERVIEW M 6.3 14 42.17N 83.19W WYANDOTTE M 6.3 14 42.21N 83.16W GROSSE POINTE FARMS M 6.8 14 42.40N 82.89W
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12/25/12
Just a quick update to tweak storm particulars as of Christmas night;
Timing of the storm;
Not much Change
I look for snow to overspread Southeast Lower Michigan from south to north during the first half of Wednesday and continue into Wednesday Night.
Snowfall trend;
Heaviest snowfall (lowest visibilities and most accumulations) at this time looks to be from the mid afternoon into the evening hours...just a few hrs later.
Snowfall amounts;
Models are still a little variable on storm track and amounts.
The forecast remains basically the same over much of Southeast Lower Michigan except the far west and northwest areas.
I feel with the dynamics and moisture available; snowfalls over much of the region should still range in the neighborhood of 4 - 7" (though I wouldn't rule out some isolated 8" amounts). The heaviest snow will fall over the east and extreme southeast portions of Southeast Lower Michigan. Lighter amounts of snow of 2 - 4" will be seen over the areas further out to the west and northwest. Therefore; the lighter snows of 2 - 4" would include the counties of Bay, Midland, Saginaw, Shiawassee and Livingston...or basically areas west of US-23 and I-75 in those counties.
Other notable weather;
Wind. Stiff northeast winds will pick up to between 15 to 25 mph with gusts around 30 mph creating blowing and drifting snow as the day wears on. Some lake enhancement snow off of Lake Huron is possible but with relatively "mild" temperatures in the mid 20s to around 30, this shouldn't be a notable lake event.
_________________________________________________________________________________
12/24/12
As mentioned in my previous blog; the potential for a snowstorm for Wednesday into Wednesday night does look likely. From my previous blog;
"Latest indications are the storm will take shape over the eastern Texas; scoop up Gulf moisture and head northeast into the Ohio Valley. How close she comes to Southeast Lower Michigan will dictate the snowfall over the region."
The majority of our model runs now take a strong short-wave of energy in the jet stream, entering over the West Coast early Monday, and still track it east southeast into eastern Texas by Christmas morning. This is an ideal location for these winter storms to fire-up and is one of our preferred tracks /2/ this winter in the Winter Outlook. As you can see on the map below, the short-wave energy generally takes two routes over the eastern half of the U.S.; either from the eastern Texas/Gulf region northeast into the Ohio Valley, or up the East Coast. In this case, the storm is slated to track northeast across the Tennessee Valley and into the Northern Ohio Valley. The energy will then transfer from the northern Ohio Valley to the East Coast where a new storm center will form.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Little has changed on the timing of the storm;
I look for snow to overspread Southeast Lower Michigan from south to north during the first half of Wednesday and continue into the evening hours.
Snowfall trend;
Heaviest snowfall (lowest visibilities and most accumulations) at this time looks to be during the afternoon hours of Wednesday.
Snowfall amounts;
The European cousin model /Euro/ and our American counterpart /GFS/ are pretty much in agreement now with the timing and track of the storm as of the Sunday night /00z/ run. Note the snowfall maps below from the NAM and GFS (last two snowfall maps).
At this time; I feel with the dynamics and moisture available; a preliminary estimate this far out of in the neighborhood of 4"- 7" seems suitable across much of Southeast Lower Michigan. Of course; any later storm track deviation or intensity, snowfall totals expected will be noted and updated.
Other notable weather;
Wind. Stiff northeast winds will pick up to between 15 to 25 mph with gusts around 30 mph creating blowing and drifting snow as the day wears on. Some lake enhancement snow off of Lake Huron is possible but with relatively "mild" temperatures in the mid 20s to around 30, this shouldn't be a notable lake event.
Step by step map projections
1-Eastern Texas-Gulf Low forming Christmas morning; Note the mild, moisture laden air streaming north out of the Gulf to feed the developing storm.
2- The low pressure and storm center continues to deepen in very favorable conditions over the Tennessee valley as she tracks northeast with the upper short-wave dynamics. Also note; the "horse-shoe" shaped high pressure engulfing the storm around it. This is a classic pattern, seen many times as the colder, drier winds of the high pressure are drawn into the storm on stiff northeast winds across the Lower Lakes and Ohio Valley. Eventually this will also act as an atmospheric block or "wall" causing the low pressure to slide off more to the east northeast. The trough (dashed brown line) out ahead of the storm many times tells the path she's aiming for, and in this case eventually western Pennsylvania.
3- Our storm center has pushed into the southeast Ohio/West Virginia region as a new low is given birth on the East Coast Wednesday evening. Note the winds have gradually shifted to nearly due north over Southeast Lower Michigan, a sign the low is beginning to pull away to the east northeast and pressure rises will follow.
Projected snowfall totals by the NAM and GFS by Wednesday night at Midnight from the Sunday evening runs.
Both models are fairly similar in extent and amounts but with the GFS a bit lower over Southeast Lower Michigan than the NAM. My vote at this time /Sun night/ would be toward the GFS.
N A M
GFS
As the time approaches, look for updates if needed.
Making weather fun while we all learn,
Bill Deedler -SEMI_WeatherHistorian
Published 215am; Mon 12/24
