»Frederic / Gaylord Area Trail Report – Sledheads of Frederic – 12/07
Frederic / Gaylord Area Trail Report – Sledheads of Frederic – 12/07
FREDERIC / GAYLORD AREA UPDATE via Sledheads of Frederic – 12/07
It doesn’t get much better for a start than this, with probably about a foot of wet thick heavy snow. Trails were fantastic yesterday, my friend Tim and I started out in Grayling and rode up to Frederic and then continued the long loop back to Grayling. No dirt showing and only passed a few other sleds. I have been out plowing already this morning and I saw one truck at the trailhead just west of Grayling and it looked like he was stuck, not everything is plowed well yet so be leary of what you head into.
As usual when we do get a big dumping like we had there arent many sleds out as it takes time for people to get here, Its 12 degrees this morning and as more riders show up the snow will get used up. This makes for a great base so this should be a decent starter weekend. Gotta go and plow some more, Thanks for checking in. Pete
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> A quick-moving clipper system crosses northern MI tonight. Primarily rain is expected across much of northern lower, with mainly snow through the Straits and eastern U.P. Snow will likely end as a period of freezing drizzle early Friday morning with a coating of ice possible, mainly in eastern upper. #miweather #gaylord#cadillac#benzie#traversecity#petoskey #soo #newberryA quick-moving clipper system crosses northern MI tonight. Primarily rain is expected across much of northern lower, with mainly snow through the Straits and eastern U.P. Snow will likely end as a period of freezing drizzle early Friday morning with a coating of ice possible, mainly in eastern upper. ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Morning clouds will clear from north to south later today as a front drops through the region, bringing partly to mostly sunny skies this afternoon. Our next round of precip chances returns tonight into Friday morning with a mix of rain and snow. Light freezing rain will be possible overnight across the eastern U.P. and far northern lower, but any glaze of ice should melt Friday morning as temperatures rise above freezing. Additional rain/snow chances move in late Saturday and Sunday. #miweather #gaylord#cadillac#benzie#traversecity#petoskeyMorning clouds will clear from north to south later today as a front drops through the region, bringing partly to mostly sunny skies this afternoon. Our next round of precip chances returns tonight into Friday morning with a mix of rain and snow. Light freezing rain will be possible overnight across the eastern U.P. and far northern lower, but any glaze of ice should melt Friday morning as temperatures rise above freezing. Additional rain/snow chances move in late Saturday and Sunday. ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via Michigan Storm Chasers >> Final snowfall totals have been released from our blizzard of March 15th-17th, 2026 here in Michigan. Do note, some locations are approximated due to data gaps in the Upper Peninsula..... #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #gaylord#cadillac#benzie#traversecity#petoskeyFinal snowfall totals have been released from our blizzard of March 15th-17th, 2026 here in Michigan. Do note, some locations are approximated due to data gaps in the Upper Peninsula.
No doubt the forecast lived up to its insanity, with many locations getting over 40" of snow across the central Upper Peninsula, and 8-10 foot snow drifts to make things even more extreme. In terms of forecast verification, our forecast did hit the 80%+ accuracy threshold we strive for after each event. Our final verification was 83%, and most of the the misses were where the system shifted slightly south to give parts of the northern Lower Peninsula greater than 24", and parts of the western Upper Peninsula much less. Anything over 18" of snow is just "a lot" at this point anyways, so we aren't stressing too badly about the miss in the Lower Peninsula near the Mackinac Bridge. Lake effect zones in SW Michigan did verify, as text was featured under the forecast that a couple spots would see locally higher amounts.
Overall, this will be a storm we won't soon forget, which adds to the list of wild weather we've experienced in Michigan over the last two weeks. If you have any additional snowfall reports to add to the list that are not affected by drifting, drop them in the comments below here on X or Facebook. A new two-day record was also broken at the NWS office in Marquette of 36"+ with this blizzard, which is just one record smashed by this blizzard. ... See MoreSee Less