Weather History for November 5 to 11

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Weather story for today is the snow – mainly north of Big Rapids and the U.P.  The southern lower areas will see rain changing to or mixing with snow. Snowfall totals south of Big Rapids will be an inch or less with the exception of the western coastal counties may see an inch or so mainly from Holland, South Haven to the south.  Gusty winds may
locally top 35 mph.

A wave of low pressure will develop on a cold front located in Wisconsin this morning. This system then tracks through Lower Michigan today. As the low pressure system tracks to the east of the area later today…a very cold airmass will filter in from the northwest. This will lead to lake effect snow showers that will last into tonight. The snow showers will push westward offshore Friday morning as an area of high pressure moves in.

Areas in the U.P.  could see 10 to 16 inches and Gaylord around six inches of the white stuff.  So, if you are into winter sports head north!

A storm system Saturday night into Sunday may lead to a period of accumulating snow though only light accumulations are expected.

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Here is our weekly look at the weather history for Michigan – .

November 5

1951: The temperature plunges to six degrees at Grand Rapids, a record for early season cold.

1990: Heavy rains inundate southern Lower Michigan. The 2.12 inches of rain at Muskegon makes this the wettest November day on record

November 6

1880: An early season snowstorm strikes during one of the coldest Novembers on record in Lower Michigan. At Lansing, a foot of snow is measured on this day.

1951: Snow and cold dominate the month of November across western Lower Michigan, especially the first week. The morning low of 12 degrees at Muskegon is the fifth consecutive daily record low temperature. Lake effect snow continues piling up at a record pace with more than two feet of snow falling at Grand Rapids in the first week of November.

1975: Record warm weather prevails across Michigan with Grand Rapids and Lansing both reaching 77 degrees.

November 7

1877: Record cold freezes Lower Michigan following a heavy snowfall on November 5th. At Lansing the temperature plunges to 4 degrees on the 5th and 6th, and 8 degrees on this day.

November 8

1921: A record early season snowstorm buries Lower Michigan with over a foot of heavy, wet snow in some places. Lansing measures 18.9 inches for its greatest November snowfall on record.

1991: A vast flow of arctic air dominates the Midwest during early November, 1991. Several inches of snow fall from the 2nd through the 6th followed by the passage of a cold dome of high pressure that sets record lows of 11 degrees at Lansing and 16 degrees at Grand Rapids on this date.

November 9

1913: A massive storm that became known as The White Hurricane sank numerous ships on the Great Lakes and caused millions of dollars in damage across Michigan. This storm was one of the deadliest and most destructive natural disasters to hit the Great Lakes, killing more than 250 people while wrecking 19 ships and stranding 19 others. The financial loss in vessels alone was nearly five million dollars, or about 100 million dollars at current value. Lost cargo, such as coal, iron ore, and grain was estimated at over 68,000 tons.

November 10

1975: A powerful storm brought high winds across Lower Michigan, toppling trees and power lines. A tornado was spun up by the storm, damaging mobile homes and a barn in Allegan County. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during the storm, with a crew of 29 men. There were no survivors. The ore carrier left Superior, Wisconsin on November 9 loaded with 26,116 tons of taconite pellets. The cargo was to be delivered to Detroit, but the ship ran into winds of at least 60 mph and high waves and foundered at about 730 pm north of Whitefish Point.

1998: A November storm lashes the Great Lakes with wind gusts up to 90 mph. Over 167,000 homes were without power and cleanup efforts were extensive as many homes and businesses suffered roof and siding damage and thousands of trees were blown down. The high winds literally blew much of the water out of Saginaw Bay, with the water level dropping several feet and large sections of the Bay becoming dry land for a time. A waterspout on Lake Michigan briefly moved inland near Muskegon, but rapidly dissipated and caused no damage.

November 11

1911: A tornado outbreak strikes the Midwest, killing more than a dozen people. Nine people are killed as a violent tornado hits Janesville, Wisconsin. Within an hour, survivors of the storm were digging out in near-blizzard conditions with zero degree temperatures. In Michigan, a tornado kills two people and injures 21 others as it destroys five factories and 21 homes in the northern part of Owosso in Shiawassee County. Another tornado hits southeast of Battle Creek in Calhoun County, leveling barns and taking the roofs off homes. A tornado near Kingsland in Eaton County kills cattle and horses.

1940: The Armistice Day storm strikes with hurricane force winds, producing blizzard conditions across Minnesota and mountainous waves on Lake Michigan, where five vessels are lost, claiming 66 lives.

1995: A strong cold front passage is followed by high winds and lake effect snow. From three to seven inches of snow fell across Ottawa and Kent Counties in a six hour period. The heavy snowfall combined with high winds caused widespread power outages due to tree limbs falling and lines breaking. In South Haven a garage roof was destroyed by a falling tree. Power outages affected more than 50,000 people.

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