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Snow wallops northern Michigan, with more expected this weekend

Headlights of oncoming traffic cut through the snow on a road where the pavement is only showing through tire tracks in the snow.
Ed Ronco
/
IPR News
Snow falls heavily along J. Maddy Parkway in Interlochen on Friday afternoon. (Photo: Ed Ronco/IPR News)

Heavy snowfall blanketed northern Michigan this week, in the first major snow event of the season.

And we're not done yet.

The National Weather Service said more than two feet of snow fell in parts of Charlevoix and Antrim counties in the 24 hours between midday Thursday and Friday.

"They’ve really seen the most across northwest lower Michigan, but that doesn’t mean other places haven’t seen quite a bit of snow," said Matt Gillen, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Gaylord. "There were some reports out of Manistee County of upwards of 10 inches.”

Other parts of the region saw between two and eight inches of snow.

And for the weekend?

“More snow," Gillen said. "(Friday night into Saturday morning), the heaviest totals will focus right along the Straits, from Petoskey to Pellston to the Mackinac Bridge and the eastern Upper Peninsula."

A winter storm warning is in effect for Emmet and Cheboygan counties until 1 p.m. Saturday. Those areas could get more than a foot of snow, and wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour.

Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning, the heavier bands of snowfall will shift back to northwest lower Michigan.

In addition to the heavy snow, gusty winds along the lakeshore will also mean snow and possible whiteout conditions.

And a gale warning is in effect for the northern waters of Lake Michigan from 3 p.m. Saturday through 2 p.m. Sunday, with 25- to 35-knot winds expected, and waves up to 11 feet.

Ed Ronco is IPR's news director.