Gaylord Area Trail Report – 12/20
Gaylord Bureau – December 20, 2024 9:00 a.m. We had an epic start to snowmobile season – the Gaylord area got hit with over 80 inches of snow to start out winter! After a light rain and warming temperatures, trails are in poor shape and generally frozen with some stretches of dirt showing. Grooming has stopped due to the temps, but don’t worry, there’s more snow in the forecast! Check out this live feed to see trail #7, just north of Gaylord. A few things to remember about groomers: – Groomers are out there to help you have a better riding experience and always have the right of way. Want to be ready? Get a free trail map delivered right to your mailbox and plan your adventure! As always, check back with us for updates and weather reports. http://www.gaylordmichigan.net/snowmobile-trail-report-114/ <> Wow, a new inch and a half of snow. At least its a start. It looks nice and white out there this morning. I dont expect to see to many sleds out there but you never know. I decided to leave here and go up to Gaylord yesterday and saw five sleds over at the Swamp and the pic of them is below. I headed up to Gaylord after that and saw 2 sleds heading north of Waters on trail 7. So there were at least 7 sleds out there that I know of. It was about 4:30 and I got a call from a group that were sitting in front of Sledheads and needed carbides. I asked them if they had been at the swamp and it was those five guys. They had rode over here from Mancelona. I didnt know for sure if I had what he needed for a Riot so I told him I would go to Sled Shed to get him some as I was close to there. I was back here to Sledheads in 15 minutes and we got him changed and they were back on their way to Mancelona. He had zero carbide left on the left side so that kind of explains how the trails were. Turns out I had 5 sets of carbides here but at least he was safe on getting back on the trail the way we did it. So it was about 6 and I left to go home and decided to go to Rays Barbecue on the river in Grayling for a brisket sandwhich and in was Ray & Cindy Stewart along with Skinny Kenny and their whole group of people. Pics below along with a spontaneous chant of MO MO NAH CHEE CHEE NAH……That was fun. They were hoping for new rideable snow like the rest of us. I really am not sure what to think about what its going to be like this weekend. All you can do is try Be sure to look down one or 2 posts on my Sleheads Facebook page for the MO MO NAH video. Thanks for checking in. Pete http://frederic-mi.com/category/trail-conditions/ WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Lake effect snow continues tonight into Sunday as winds shift more northwesterly, shifting focus of snows with time. In addition to the snow, very cold wind chills and air temperatures are expected tonight, particularly in areas away from lake effect snowfall. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskey WOLVERINE - GAYLORD AREA UPDATE via The Thirsty Sturgeon >> 8 inches of Freshy Fresh this morning…Lookin’ great out there!! #gaylord #snowphotos WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Accumulating lake effect snow continues across northern Michigan today into Sunday. Gusty winds will lead to blowing and drifting snow, leading to quick drops in visibility – especially across open areas. Wind chills look to stay below zero today into tonight. Cold temperatures may also lead to freezing of wet roads this morning, contributing to potentially hazardous travel conditions for the first half of the weekend. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyAccumulating lake effect snow continues across northern Michigan today into Sunday. Gusty winds will lead to blowing and drifting snow, leading to quick drops in visibility – especially across open areas. Wind chills look to stay below zero today into tonight. Cold temperatures may also lead to freezing of wet roads this morning, contributing to potentially hazardous travel conditions for the first half of the weekend. FREDERIC - GAYLORD AREA UPDATE via Sledheads of Frederic , Michigan Snowmobiling >> Friday riders were out but certainly no big crowds, light sled traffic. I see 6 sleds over at the swamp right now and am sure they are there for the breakfast buffet. My gut feeling is its gonna be a slow saturday but conditions are still better than we have seen in years. Had dinner at the Frederic Inn last night and 3 of us had the prime rib and it was great as usual. Left overs for lunch today. Pics below are all from yesterday and last night. Thanks for checking in. Pete #gaylord #snowphotos Light lake effect overnight, about 1 inch of new fluff frederic-mi.com WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Accumulating snow returns to the Northwoods later this afternoon into Saturday as a cold front swings across the area, ushering in a much colder air mass for the weekend. Several inches of snow is expected across parts of northwest lower and the eastern U.P. by Saturday morning with additional lake effect snow continuing through Saturday. Below zero wind chills are expected for most areas late tonight through Saturday. Wind gusts of 25-35+ mph will lead to patchy blowing/drifting snow, especially across open areas. Quickly dropping temps tonight may freeze wet roads by Saturday morning. Combination of snow, winds, and temperatures will lead to hazardous travel conditions across parts of the area through Saturday morning. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyAccumulating snow returns to the Northwoods later this afternoon into Saturday as a cold front swings across the area, ushering in a much colder air mass for the weekend. Several inches of snow is expected across parts of northwest lower and the eastern U.P. by Saturday morning with additional lake effect snow continuing through Saturday. Below zero wind chills are expected for most areas late tonight through Saturday. Wind gusts of 25-35+ mph will lead to patchy blowing/drifting snow, especially across open areas. Quickly dropping temps tonight may freeze wet roads by Saturday morning. Combination of snow, winds, and temperatures will lead to hazardous travel conditions across parts of the area through Saturday morning. ST. HELEN AREA UPDATE via St. Helen Snowpackers Snowmobile & ORV Club >> **SNOWMOBILE TRAIL UPDATE** WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Accumulating snow returns to the Northwoods later this afternoon into Saturday as a cold front swings across the area, ushering in a much colder air mass for the weekend. Several inches of snow is expected across parts of northwest lower and the eastern U.P. by Saturday morning with additional lake effect snow continuing through Saturday. Below zero wind chills are expected for most areas late tonight through Saturday. Wind gusts of 25-35+ mph will lead to patchy blowing/drifting snow, especially across open areas. Quickly dropping temps tonight may freeze wet roads by Saturday morning. Combination of snow, winds, and temperatures will lead to hazardous travel conditions across parts of the area through Saturday morning. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskey #soo #newberryAccumulating snow returns to the Northwoods later this afternoon into Saturday as a cold front swings across the area, ushering in a much colder air mass for the weekend. Several inches of snow is expected across parts of northwest lower and the eastern U.P. by Saturday morning with additional lake effect snow continuing through Saturday. Below zero wind chills are expected for most areas late tonight through Saturday. Wind gusts of 25-35+ mph will lead to patchy blowing/drifting snow, especially across open areas. Quickly dropping temps tonight may freeze wet roads by Saturday morning. Combination of snow, winds, and temperatures will lead to hazardous travel conditions across parts of the area through Saturday morning. WEATHER UPDATE via Michigan Storm Chasers >> The switch is being flipped into the "on" position for lake effect snow this weekend. Much of what you see won't fall today, but as our extremely cold air mass pushes in late tonight, flurries will begin to fly. Much of the higher totals begin beyond 8 pm EST tonight. Lakeshore areas should prepare for travel delays primarily after this time beginning tonight. Heavy lake effect snow will continue on Saturday thanks to a west-northwest wind, which hints at a shift to out of the northwest by Sunday. FREDERIC - GAYLORD AREA UPDATE via Sledheads of Frederic , Michigan Snowmobiling >> No new snow overnight. 25 degrees on a cloudy friday morning in downtown Frederic. Just had a group of guys ride in from down around Dayton OHio. They rode to the bridge yesterday. Picture below is of them outside here at Sledheads this morning. Another clipper supposed to come tonight. So we are set on snow and sled traffic has still been slow still. Lets see how it goes this weekend. Here is a video we made years ago. youtu.be/luoEuA9DzqQ?si=jDZlpzDlwjiup8f7 frederic-mi.com <> <>
– Please move off the trail when groomers are coming and allow them to safely pass.
– If you approach a groomer from behind, kindly wait for the operator to signal you to pass.
– Grooming can take place at any time during the day or night.
– Have fun and stay safe!Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
We are in pretty good shape considering it’s mid-December.
Plenty of snow on the trails.
The base is building but, going easy on the throttle will help keep it in place
A little snirty and thin in some areas, mostly corners.
Get out and ride!
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN #sthelen #gaylord
There are concerns with dry air, however the favorable zone for dendrites (snowflakes) to form is essentially on the ground with how cold it'll be. Air temperatures on Saturday alone in the UP may just barely be in the positive single-digits. Wind gusts this weekend may jump to 30-35 mph too, so some of this lake effect snow will push further inland. Totals of 1-3" & 2-6" is a safe bet for much of west and southwest Michigan. Some places may jump above 6" where the heaviest of banding sets up. Further north, our typically higher terrain in the Gaylord region will likely see snowfall totals over 6". Into the UP, much cooler temperatures exist here, and snowfall rates may exceed 1" per hour at times. Totals closer to the one foot mark are likely. The western UP does exhibit a decent chance at totals crossing into the 12-24" category. At the current time, totals are leaning on the lower end of the 12-24" category, but those hotspots where microclimate factors come into play could easily push the upper-bounds of this category. SE Michigan... life carries on once more. Being so far away from the lake effect zones, it's expected that you all will get an inch at most. Isolated hotspots of 1-2" are possible, but don't get your hopes up unless you're close to the Ohio border.
Why 1-3" at the border? Well, we do have a clipper passing to our south Saturday, hence the added 1-3" zone that runs along the MI/IN/OH border. Stay tuned here at MSC for updates this weekend on the lake effect snow AND cold that's set to impact us through Monday. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyThe switch is being flipped into the "on" position for lake effect snow this weekend. Much of what you see won't fall today, but as our extremely cold air mass pushes in late tonight, flurries will begin to fly. Much of the higher totals begin beyond 8 pm EST tonight. Lakeshore areas should prepare for travel delays primarily after this time beginning tonight. Heavy lake effect snow will continue on Saturday thanks to a west-northwest wind, which hints at a shift to out of the northwest by Sunday.
There are concerns with dry air, however the favorable zone for dendrites (snowflakes) to form is essentially on the ground with how cold it'll be. Air temperatures on Saturday alone in the UP may just barely be in the positive single-digits. Wind gusts this weekend may jump to 30-35 mph too, so some of this lake effect snow will push further inland. Totals of 1-3" & 2-6" is a safe bet for much of west and southwest Michigan. Some places may jump above 6" where the heaviest of banding sets up. Further north, our typically higher terrain in the Gaylord region will likely see snowfall totals over 6". Into the UP, much cooler temperatures exist here, and snowfall rates may exceed 1" per hour at times. Totals closer to the one foot mark are likely. The western UP does exhibit a decent chance at totals crossing into the 12-24" category. At the current time, totals are leaning on the lower end of the 12-24" category, but those hotspots where microclimate factors come into play could easily push the upper-bounds of this category. SE Michigan... life carries on once more. Being so far away from the lake effect zones, it's expected that you all will get an inch at most. Isolated hotspots of 1-2" are possible, but don't get your hopes up unless you're close to the Ohio border.
Why 1-3" at the border? Well, we do have a clipper passing to our south Saturday, hence the added 1-3" zone that runs along the MI/IN/OH border. Stay tuned here at MSC for updates this weekend on the lake effect snow AND cold that's set to impact us through Monday.
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Thanks for checking in. Pete #gaylord #snowphotos
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