'Megastorm' Slams Michigan With Heavy Snow, Ice

An intense winter storm dumped more than two feet of snow over parts of Michigan in the last 48 hours, according to the National Weather Service.

The heavy snow and powerful wind gusts created blizzard-like conditions across the Upper Peninsula and parts of northern Michigan on Sunday and Monday.

Areas in the Marquette region saw snowfall rates up to two inches per hour with winds reaching up to 60 miles per hour, the weather service said.

Forecasters said the storm dumped 30 inches of fresh snow across those areas by Monday morning. Other areas in the region reported as much as two feet of snow.

Some roads in the region were completely impassable. M-28 between Kawbawgam Road and M-94 was closed due to whiteout conditions.

"Many locations across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan still have 20-50 inches of snow on the ground, prior to the arrival of the current storm," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham. "After the megastorm moves through, some locales may be able to hold onto snowpack well into the month of April, possibly into May."

The storm did not spare parts of lower northern Michigan. The Petoskey area saw 24 inches of fresh snow and areas around Traverse City easily received more than a foot of snow.

Icing was also a major concern. Some areas across the region have reported more than a quarter inch of ice, contributing to more than 117,000 power outages.

The Alpena Power Company warned its customers power could be out of power for days.

"All available crews are working, and we have additional contract crews assisting," company officials said. "This is another catastrophic event for Northern Michigan, with extensive tree damage causing widespread power outages throughout the area."

Flights were grounded at the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City on Sunday. Travelers were still seeing delays Monday morning.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer closed all nonessential state office buildings across northern Michigan as the snow and ice were expected to continue through Monday.

Most of the region remains in either a blizzard warning, winter storm warning, or ice storm warning.

The storm should move out of Michigan by Monday night when dangerously cold temperatures return. Lows will fall into the teens with wind chills dropping below zero overnight, the weather service said.