Frederic / Gaylord Area Trail Report – Sledheads of Frederic – 02/17
It’s a beautiful minus sixteen degrees and sunny in downtown Frederic this morning. I brought my sled in the trailer from home this morning and will decide maybe in a couple hours if I am going for a ride…I have heard one sled go by so far this morning. Well yesterday was my first missed update of the season as I did a road trip downstate, unbelieveable the snow south of Cadillac and over to Ann Arbor an Flint. I saw sleds running the streets in Flint where them must have been 12 to 18 inches of fresh snow and then on my way back from Flint I saw 6 sleds parked at a bar near the saginaw river in Old Town Saginaw. Why cant we get snow up north where that snow is supposed to be. Predictions for the next few days are as they have been for the past couple of weeks with just some scattered lake effect coming our way. I guess that is what we are destined for this year. As I left home this morning I saw what looked like a bunch of smoke coming off the trail on M 93 and then out of the tree line merged the Grayling Groomer out doing what he does. The cold was making extra cloud in the air. Also want to do a shout out to the Rosco Higgins Trail Cruisers who have done a great job of doing the trail south of four mile to the Muskegon River and towards the Ramada Inn in Grayling. I checked out the motels this morning and there were actually four trailers at the Days Inn and only one at the Ramada. Thats it for today. Thanks for checking in. Pete <> Visit Sledheads of Frederic on Facebook >>>> <> FREDERIC - GAYLORD AREA UPDATE via Sledheads of Frederic , Michigan Snowmobiling >> We lost alot yesterday, made it to about 40 degrees, lots of slush and very dissapointing considering how good it was. Winds are stiff and when this slush hardens up from the cold its gonna make it really rough. So here I sit in Sledheads and it will be a great day for pushing slush and watching t.v. Stop by and say hi if you are in the area. I do still have my rental cottage avaiilable if you want to come and just camp out there for the winter. I wish I had a better report. Thanks for checking in. Pics below are from this morning. Pete #gaylord #snowphotos frederic-mi.com WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Combination of falling temperatures, increasingly gusty winds, and accumulating lake enhanced snow showers will create hazardous travel across parts of the area today. Local power outages due to the gusty winds are possible. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyCombination of falling temperatures, increasingly gusty winds, and accumulating lake enhanced snow showers will create hazardous travel across parts of the area today. Local power outages due to the gusty winds are possible. FREDERIC - GAYLORD AREA UPDATE via Sledheads of Frederic , Michigan Snowmobiling >> Its misty rain and 37 degrees on this thursday morning in downtown Frederic. Roads are wet. I finally did see some sleds out and about yesterday, 4 at the Frederic Inn and 5 at Bear Lake Inn and a few guys that drove in here this morning they said they stopped by here after I left yesterday. They had rode up to the bridge and back as they were from Ohio and staying here in Frederic. There is still alot of snow in the woods but things are getting slushy. Pics below are from this morning. Its supposed to drop in temp tonight but they are showing 30s on some of next week. Thats the best I can tell you. Thanks for checking in. Pete #gaylord #snowphotos frederic-mi.com WEATHER UPDATE via Michigan Storm Chasers >> Lake effect totals through Friday afternoon, December 19th, 2025 have been updated slightly to account for latest shifts in atmospheric conditions. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> After a mild and occasionally rainy day today, much colder temperatures arrive this evening through Friday. Temperatures are expected to fall a good 10-20 degrees this evening through tonight. leading to a potential flash freeze of wet roads. Renewed snow chances will accompany this colder air with several inches of accumulation, especially in the snow belts of northern lower & eastern upper. In addition, strong winds upwards of 35-45 mph late tonight into Friday will lead to blowing snow. All said, travel will become hazardous later this evening through Friday across much of northern Michigan. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskey JORDAN VALLEY AREA UPDATE via Jordan Valley Trails Council >> Current condition’s are 32* and drizzle. Today’s warmup is melting/settling the snow quickly. We’ll regroup Friday as temps drop and hope the snowfall comes back. <> Latest Trail Reports – Quick Links <>Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
Discussion
As temperatures fall early Friday, moisture pools back in, mixed with colder air over the warmer lakes, turning on the lake effect machine for both of the Great Lakes that influence our normal lake effect zones. A respectable 1-3" to 2-5" is possible in the fairly typical areas shown on the map. The narrow lane of higher elevation across the Keweenaw Peninsula and Porcupine Mountains are most-likely to experience totals exceeding 6". You may have noticed our one main change was the expansion of T-1" over to the east side of the state just as a general precaution to any snow squalls that make it across the state. Not everyone will get a rogue snow squall, but it is in the odds for nearly everyone. A snow squall is a thin, but intense band of quick snow that can produce at least half an inch of snow in minutes time, while knocking visibility down from 10 miles, to a quarter mile in moments time. Additionally, a quick coating of snow may hide any ice that was able to form from the freeze later tonight. Lake effect snow and snow squalls are poised to start later this evening around 8 pm EST (earlier for the western UP), and run primarily through 1 pm EST Friday. A couple lake effect bands may last through 6 pm across northern Michigan near Gaylord, and the central UP near Munising.
Each area is never guaranteed the totals shown on the screen. This is why we call it a prediction. The totals that are shown however do have the greatest odds of occurring. Yes, we are still trying to find that crystal ball, but no luck to this point. Follow us here at Michigan Storm Chasers for forecast updates, and a little humor on the side, throughout the next few days, and as always, 365 days a year! #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyLake effect totals through Friday afternoon, December 19th, 2025 have been updated slightly to account for latest shifts in atmospheric conditions.
Discussion
As temperatures fall early Friday, moisture pools back in, mixed with colder air over the warmer lakes, turning on the lake effect machine for both of the Great Lakes that influence our normal lake effect zones. A respectable 1-3" to 2-5" is possible in the fairly typical areas shown on the map. The narrow lane of higher elevation across the Keweenaw Peninsula and Porcupine Mountains are most-likely to experience totals exceeding 6". You may have noticed our one main change was the expansion of T-1" over to the east side of the state just as a general precaution to any snow squalls that make it across the state. Not everyone will get a rogue snow squall, but it is in the odds for nearly everyone. A snow squall is a thin, but intense band of quick snow that can produce at least half an inch of snow in minutes time, while knocking visibility down from 10 miles, to a quarter mile in moments time. Additionally, a quick coating of snow may hide any ice that was able to form from the freeze later tonight. Lake effect snow and snow squalls are poised to start later this evening around 8 pm EST (earlier for the western UP), and run primarily through 1 pm EST Friday. A couple lake effect bands may last through 6 pm across northern Michigan near Gaylord, and the central UP near Munising.
Each area is never guaranteed the totals shown on the screen. This is why we call it a prediction. The totals that are shown however do have the greatest odds of occurring. Yes, we are still trying to find that crystal ball, but no luck to this point. Follow us here at Michigan Storm Chasers for forecast updates, and a little humor on the side, throughout the next few days, and as always, 365 days a year!
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Prior to this warmup, trails had 2-5” of compacted snow on them, which should give us a good solid base going forward.
In just 2 days, snow has dropped 2+” according to the National Weather Service snow gauge. The Antrim County Snowmobile Club snow gauge is sitting at 4” #jordanvalley #gaylord #snowphotos