Northern Michigan experienced more snow than last year, according to the National Weather Service, particularly in snow-belt areas along the Great Lakes shorelines.
Michigan has seen several waves of winter weather this season, from fast-moving clipper systems to Arctic air that have brought bitter cold and snow to the state. Lake-effect snow added localized heavy accumulations, along the western and eastern shores.
Although no northern Lower Peninsula cities set records in snowfall this year, an NWS report shows Alpena, Houghton Lake, Sault Ste. Marie, Traverse City, West Branch and Petosky all had more than average.
“La Niña, for the Great Lakes region, typically makes us a little cooler and wetter for that time of year. For the winter, cool and wet makes for a lot of snowfall,” NWS Gaylord forecaster Sean Christensen said.
The weather phenomenon known as La Niña — “little girl” in Spanish — forms in the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles away from the Great Lakes, but has a strong influence on our weather.
La Niña, a condition when the surface temperatures of areas of the Pacific Ocean near the equator are cooler than long-term average, brings an extra precipitation in the form of snowfall, according to scientists.
The Marquette National Weather Service office shared a map this week indicating areas in the Keweenaw Peninsula received 360.3 inches of snow — just shy of the record total 390.4 inches in 1978-79.
The weather service also said 366 inches fell southeast of L’Anse, and about 213 inches near Chatham, southwest of Munising. Whitefish Point and Paradise totaled about 239 inches.
Meanwhile, the southern U.P. received far less, only about 67 inches near Menominee and about 70 inches near St. Ignace.
Northern Michigan snow totals
The Gaylord National Weather Service shared these snowfall totals for northern Michigan.
See how much snow fell where you live
USA TODAY’s snowfall map shows accumulation over seasonal totals dating back to Oct. 1.
The map lets you toggle between timeframes to see how snow is adding up in your area by using your address.
USA Today reporter Brandi D. Addison and Detroit Free Press reporters contributed.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Winter’s over, what were those final snowfall totals up north?
Reporting by Jalen Williams, USA TODAY NETWORK / Detroit Free Press
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