Midwest Groundhog Day Blizzard Update: Michigan Snowfall Exceeded in 1978

Images (click to enlarge): Michigan storm total snowfall ending Feb. 2, 2011, from National Weather Service

The National Weather Service reports that a few daily snowfall records were set in western Michigan during the blizzard of February 1 and 2. However, the storm totals did not exceed the records set in the blizzard of 1978:

WITH THIS LATEST STORM...DAILY RECORDS WERE SET FOR FEBRUARY 1 AND
FEBRUARY 2...RESPECTIVELY. NO OTHER OFFICIAL RECORDS WERE BROKEN.
HERE ARE THE NEW RECORDS THAT WERE SET:

...GRAND RAPIDS...

FEBRUARY 1...RECORD DAILY SNOWFALL OF 6.1" (PREVIOUS WAS 5.7" IN
1974)
FEBRUARY 2...RECORD DAILY SNOWFALL OF 11.1" (PREVIOUS WAS 5.2" IN
1994)

...LANSING...

FEBRUARY 2...RECORD DAILY SNOWFALL OF 8.0" (PREVIOUS WAS 2.9" IN
1970)

...MUSKEGON...

NO RECORDS WERE SET DURING THIS STORM.

THE BLIZZARD OF 1978 SET A RECORD ALL-TIME CALENDAR DAY SNOWFALL
OF 16.1" IN GRAND RAPIDS ON JANUARY 26. EVEN THOUGH THIS EVENT
RIVALED THAT BLIZZARD IN TERMS OF STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL...THE HIGHEST
CALENDAR DAY SNOWFALL WITH THIS STORM IN GRAND RAPIDS IS
11.1"...WHICH FALLS SHORT OF THE 1978 RECORD.

THE STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL WITH THE BLIZZARD OF 1978 WAS 19.2". THIS
WAS ACTUALLY A 3 DAY TOTAL FROM JANUARY 25 THROUGH JANUARY 27.
THUS...THE STORM WAS LONGER IN DURATION THAN THIS STORM. WITH A
STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 16.0" WITH THIS RECENT BLIZZARD...IT FALLS A
FEW INCHES SHORT OF THE 1978 STORM. HOWEVER...IT IS VERY IMPRESSIVE
THAT THIS RECENT STORM PRODUCED AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF SNOW IN A
RELATIVELY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. IMPACTS TO COMMERCE WERE MORE
SEVERE DURING THE 1978 STORM...BUT THIS LATEST BLIZZARD MANAGED TO
SHUT DOWN MANY BUSINESSES AND SCHOOLS FOR AT LEAST 2 DAYS. IT ALSO
STRANDED HUNDREDS OF MOTORISTS IN CHICAGO WITH WINDS UP TO 70 MPH
RECORDED AT THE CHICAGO LAKEFRONT. THE HIGHEST RECORDED WIND GUST IN
GRAND RAPIDS WAS 49 MPH THE NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 1.

THE FOLLOWING LISTS INCLUDE THE TOP 3 ALL TIME CALENDAR DAY
(MIDNIGHT TO MIDNIGHT) SNOWFALL MEASUREMENTS FOR GRAND
RAPIDS...LANSING...AND MUSKEGON.

GRAND RAPIDS

1. 16.1" (JAN 26 1978)
2. 14.2" (DEC 11 2000)
3. 14.0" (JAN 31 1914)

LANSING

1. 15.4" (JAN 26 1967)
2. 15.1" (JAN 26 1978)
3. 14.5" (DEC 11 2000)

MUSKEGON

1. 22.0" (JAN 10 1982)
2. 21.7" (JAN 26 1978)
3. 16.0" (NOV 14 1908)