An early season winter storm is developing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, bringing extremely high waves that could cause flooding around the Great Lakes and erosion, scattered snow showers and strong winds that could cause power outages, forecasters said.
The storm, which began on Sunday evening, is now over northern Lake Huron. Warnings about frequent gusts of strong wind were in effect through Tuesday for Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, according to the National Weather Service in Marquette, Mich.
At Lake Superior, waves could reach heights of between 20 and 25 feet and could even escalate to 31 feet, the Weather Service said.
At Bergland Dam near Lake Superior, about 11 inches of snow had accumulated overnight through mid morning on Monday, said Greg Michels, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Marquette. Snow was expected to slow down as it continued.
While the early onset of the snow was not rare for the Upper Midwest, the heaviness of the snowfall was “uncommon,” Mr. Michels said. Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect through Tuesday evening for parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.
“This is an early season snowfall,” he said, adding that it had occasionally snowed in the area as early as September. “It’s a little soon for this type of heavy snow, but not unheard of.”
The Great Lakes area could experience rain and snow showers throughout Monday, with wind gusts that could soar up to 50 miles per hour near Lake Superior, the National Weather Service said. Additional snowfall of up to six inches was also accumulating in northern Wisconsin, the Weather Service in Green Bay said, adding that the “worst conditions” were expected Monday afternoon.
Up to a foot of snow is possible on Monday in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the National Weather Service said.
The snow is expected to taper off for northwestern Michigan on Monday but continue into Tuesday for the north-central part of the state, Mr. Michels said.
The winter storm will “start losing its influence here Tuesday evening” but will stretch into Wednesday, Mr. Michels said. While the storm will diminish, a lake effect — a rain or snow pattern created by the interaction between temperatures of a lake and air at a higher elevation — will persist as it moves on, he said.
“Right now it’s a combination of a storm and lake effect,” Mr. Michels said. “Lake Superior actually creates its own weather.”
A cold front was moving through the Midwest, where overnight freeze warnings were in effect in states including Missouri, Indiana and Kansas.
