For southern Michigan, we have three spring-like days and four almost-wintry days. For northern Michigan, we have a slight taste of spring temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday, with the rest of the days more like winter. It looks much warmer in the first week of April.
Julie took this shot of the Mighty Mac back in April of 2021. Here’s a photo of the ice at Tahquamenon Falls breaking free that she shared 10 years ago plus a shot of a classic spring skiing slush pond from the other day. Follow her on Flickr for the latest!
Marquette’s two-day snowfall total of 36.3 inches breaks the all-time two-day snowfall record of 31.9 inches, which was set on March 13-14 in 1997. Weather records for the NWS Marquette area go back to 1959. Also, a one-day snowfall record was set in Marquette on Monday, with 21.7 inches of snow falling. This breaks Marquette’s old record of 7.7 inches that was set in 2013. Intense snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour helped set the record.
As the snow numbers are being totaled, the Upper Peninsula and parts of the northern Lower Peninsula continue to dig out from the storm. Many roads remain closed and local law enforcement and public works officials are asking people to stay home as they try to plow the main routes. In some areas, the back roads likely won’t be plowed for days.
For sure stay safe & check on your neighbors if you can! As always, Michigan Storm Chasers are a great resource, and let me also suggest Lake Superior Photo as a great Marquette resource!
The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore shared this photo with news that Sand Point Rd and all park facilities including the Munising Falls Visitor Center will remain closed through today due to blizzard conditions. Here are a couple more photos they shared recently to prophetically remind folks that winter isn’t over yet!
Last Friday, my Absolute Michigan photo group on Flickr crossed a major milestone when Mark Smith added the 300,000th photo to the group! I created the group 20 years ago to support my Absolute Michigan supersite which was regrettably demolished by the Pure Michigan campaign. Regrets aside, the group remains an incredible place for seeing images from every corner of the Great Lakes State taken by nearly 4000 members (3,930 to be exact). From Alanson to Midland to Zeeland you can find photos of parks, parties, & people enjoying everything Michigan has to offer.
Snappd by Sean Photography is one of my favorite follows on Facebook because in addition to great shots like this, he also maintains a lively back and forth with his fans. If you have become as exhausted as I am by the stream of AI fakes & stolen photographs that has taken over social media, let me suggest that you follow him and some of the other real live photographers on my Michigan Photographers page. In addition to taking views (and money) away from pixel grifters, you will be supporting the fine men & women who are out there taking the actual photographs that are being ripped off!
Sean is a Detroit-based photographer, birdwatcher & UAV drone pilot. He took this last month from Belle Isle in the Detroit River. You can see what he’s up to today on Facebook and follow him on Instagram as well!
Sheen captured the crystal blue of the ice with a bit of pastel sky thrown in on the Straits of Mackinac over the weekend. Head over to her Facebook page for the latest including a tasty shot of the mighty Mackinac Bridge with the same sky & for sure check out her website for more work!
A reader commented that they had seen lightning & heard the rumble of thunder yesterday, an observation shared by numerous folks around the state. Although a lot of the online articles are hyping up thunder snow as a dangerous or abnormal phenomenon, it’s not.
The NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory’s Severe Weather 101 explains that although thunderstorms are less common in the winter, sometimes lightning does occur within a snowstorms and is called thundersnow. Thundersnow can be found where there is relatively strong instability and abundant moisture above the surface, such as above a warm front. Thundersnow is sometimes observed downstream of the Great Salt Lake and the Great Lakes during lake-effect snowstorms too.
Christian took this back in February if 2017. See more in his barns – graneros gallery on Flickr.
Somewhere around Saginaw, Bay City, Clare and Traverse City, we could have a big shock going from temperatures in the 50s to temperatures near freezing.
Imagine going from Ann Arbor to Bay City to visit family Wednesday afternoon. You open the door in Ann Arbor to see what it’s like outside. It’s a common ritual at this time of year. It’s very nice. It’s 61 degrees, which right now feels like a spring dream. So you put on a light jacket and start driving north. You get out of your car in Bay City, and you freeze.
Definitely a day to keep an eye on the updated forecast!!
Tom captured this ice covered beauty in Utica way back in 2015. See more in his Winter gallery on Flickr!
Michigan Ice Fest is an annual ice climbing event that kicks off today and runs February 11-15, 2026 in Munising in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The event is an annual celebration of the sport of ice climbing with competitions, clinics, and plenty of social fun! National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation has an interview with Michigan Ice Fest organizer Bill Thompson below that you should check out.
Robin shared these otherworldly shots of the ice caves on Empire Beach in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore earlier this week. Click the pics to see them bigger & follow her on Instagram for more!
As with any time we share photos of ice caves, we need to caution you that you can 100% lose your life exploring ice caves. Be smart.
It can be dangerous because you might think you’re walking on solid ground, when actually you’re out over the water. Due to the layered nature of shelf ice, even if you’re out over four feet of water, if you were to fall through a thin spot in the ice, you could find yourself trapped in an ice cavern and even though you may not be fully submerged in the water, you’re unable to get out because the walls of the cavern are ice and impossible to climb.
Michigan in Pictures 