Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

The weekend of January 22-23, 1938 was a mild one in Upper Michigan.  A thaw had set in, whittling down some of the snow banks left by a New Year’s Eve snowstorm.  Temperatures reached the 30s and 40s that Saturday and Sunday over most of the U.P.  Little did residents know that the “Storm of the Century” for Upper Michigan was just beginning to develop off to the west. 

The surface map that morning (Image 1) showed a large high pressure system over Ohio and West Virginia.  On the backside of this high, south to southwesterly winds were blowing warm air into the Great Lakes.  To the west, a trough of low pressure was developing from the Northern Plains to Texas.  Embedded in the trough was a low in the northern stream near Lake Winnipeg, while another low—the system that would become the primary center—was brewing over central Texas.  The low developed and deepened northeastward into central Illinois by the next morning (Image 2).  Already, a wet, heavy snow developed over a good share of the Upper Peninsula and the storm was just getting started. 

It looks like a warm up for us this weekend and especially early next week.  There is even the chance of some thawing on Monday and Tuesday before the next cold blast settles in.  As for a storm, a trough will be developing over the western U.S., and a low will take shape in response to the trough.  So far at least, indications are that we will just have a cold frontal passage with no significant, widespread snowstorm.