Historic May snows in Michigan, West Virginia break statewide records
The town of Herman, Michigan, somehow managed to collect 4 feet of snow over three days. The 48 inches measured from May 1-3 trounced the statewide record for May snowfall, previously 30 inches set in Roscommon, Michigan, in 1907.
Michigan officials work to cleanup record-breaking May snow
Michigan Department of Transportation Superior Region spokesperson Dan Weingarten joins FOX Weather to discuss how Michigan officials are working to clean up the late-season, record-breaking snow.
HERMAN, Mich. – Call it winter "May"hem…
As a powerful and chilly low-pressure system slowly swirled from the Great Lakes to the East Coast, egged on by a stagnant Omega blocking pattern, two states managed to set records for May snowfall.
Intense snow pummeled Michigan's Upper Peninsula earlier this week, dumping snowfall amounts that would be impressive in the heart of January, much less the first week of May.
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The town of Herman, Michigan, somehow managed to collect 4 feet of snow over three days. The 48 inches measured from May 1-3 trounced the statewide record for May snowfall, previously 30 inches set in Roscommon, Michigan, in 1907.
(FOX Weather)
For Herman, 27 inches fell on May 2 alone, again setting a state record for the most snow on any May day, though it also was the snowiest May date ever recorded east of the Mississippi River, according to Alaska-based climatologist Brian Brettschneider.
And that doesn't even count the 4 inches that fell on Sunday when the calendar still read April. That makes 52 inches over four days – wow!
The town of Marquette was no slouch as runner-up, netting 26.2 inches from May 1-3, which of course, that set all-time daily and May records for the city.
West Virginia shatters some snow records too
As the massive storm swirled to the east, heavy snow fell in the higher elevations of West Virginia, shattering a century-old record.
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(FOX Weather)
An observer on Canaan Mountain reported 16.2 inches of snow, while Snowshoe had 16 inches. Davis had 10.1 inches.
All three readings topped the previous state record for May snowfall of 10 inches set in Beckley, West Virginia, in 1923.
Rapid warmup leads to quick snowmelt, flooding concerns in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Those back in Michigan didn't get to marvel at their record snowfall for long.
Temperatures zoomed into the 40s Wednesday and were set to reach well into the 50s into the weekend, with 60s likely by next week.
A photo from the National Weather Service office in Marquette already indicated quite a bit of snow was gone by sunrise Thursday:
Compared to what it looked like just two days prior:
Flood Watches are now in effect across much of the Upper Peninsula for swollen rivers due to rapid snowmelt and passing rain showers.