Heavy lake effect snow has been falling for several hours in Marquette, with more on the way, prompting officials at Northern Michigan University to close for the rest of the day.
All afternoon and night classes are cancelled for the rest of the day at NMU.
The lake effect snow has caused slippery travel conditions in the city, with a traffic accident at the new M-DOT circle on US-41 near the Best Buy electronics store snarling traffic.
The National Weather Service has a Winter Storm Warning in effect until 10:00 tonight in Marquette County for another ten inches of snow in the City of Marquette, north to Big Bay, and south toward Skandia. Further away from the lake, only 1-3 inches of snow is expected, and in Gwinn and Champion, little to no snow accumulation is expected.
In the southern U.P., a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect in Delta and Schoolcraft Counties until 1:00 tonight. This will see 2-4 inches of snow fall from Rapid River east to Manistique, and south to Garden. Five-to-seven inches of snow are expected in other parts of the counties, from Steuben to Round Lake to Chicago Lake.
No accumulation is expected in the Escanaba area and places further south.
Some snowfall reports so far at the NWS office in Negaunee:
0110 PM SNOW 5 NNW SKANDIA 46.44N 87.27W
11/07/2019 M9.2 INCH MARQUETTE MI CO-OP OBSERVER
1215 PM SNOW MARQUETTE 46.55N 87.39W
11/07/2019 M8.5 INCH MARQUETTE MI NWS EMPLOYEE
1136 AM SNOW 8 SE BIG BAY 46.72N 87.62W
11/07/2019 M4.5 INCH MARQUETTE MI PUBLIC
1130 AM SNOW 1 WNW TROWBRIDGE PARK 46.56N 87.45W
11/07/2019 M4.7 INCH MARQUETTE MI NWS EMPLOYEE
The weather warnings are posted below:
WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING…
* WHAT…Heavy lake effect snow. Additional snow accumulations of 10 inches or more…mainly from near Big Bay through Marquette to Skandia. Accumulations west and south of this line will be generally 1 to 3 inches, except little to no snow accumulation along and southwest of a line from Gwinn to Champion.
* WHERE…Marquette County.
* WHEN…Until 10 PM EST this evening.
* IMPACTS…Hazardous travel conditions are expected today between Big Bay and Marquette and along M-28 and US-41… mainly east of Negaunee. Plan on near whiteout conditions in the stronger lake effect snow bands. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.
..WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST FRIDAY…
* WHAT…Periods of moderate lake effect snow. Expect sharp gradients in snowfall to develop across the county through tonight. Snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are expected from Rapid River eastward over to Manistique and southward towards Garden. North of US-2, especially closer to Chicago Lake, Round Lake, and near Steuben snow accumulations of 5 to 7 inches are expected, with locally higher amounts possible. Southwest parts of Delta County will see little to no snow, and southeast Schoolcraft County where locally 1 to 2 inches are expected.
* WHERE…Delta and Southern Schoolcraft Counties.
* WHEN…Until 1 AM EST Friday.
* IMPACTS…Hazardous travel is possible today, especially inland from Lake Michigan. Travel conditions will become increasingly difficult, especially along and east of US-41 later today and tonight, impacting the evening commute. Plan on sharply reduced visibilities in stronger lake effect snow bands.
