Frederic / Gaylord Area Trail Report – Sledheads of Frederic – 02/18
FREDERIC / GAYLORD AREA UPDATE via Sledheads of Frederic – 2/18 A Slight dusting…..but wait theres more. I put my plow back on this morning because the weather forcast looks promising. Calling for 3 to six inches by tonight. Still it is very icy and hard under neath. I wouldnt be surprised to see a couple people try to ride today. Not exactly what I would want to ride my sled on. If we do get what they are predicting that would be a little help. Just be careful with all the ice out there. I also would like to send a Happy Birthday shout out to Bruce Young today. I have kind of lost track I believe he is around the 75 year mark. Happy Birthday Bruce! Hope you have a great day. Picture below is trail 7 looking north at the north end of Frederic at Hulbert road. While it looks nice and white its just a dusting on top of the ice. I will be here all day if any of you want to stop by on your way to the u.p. Exit 264, wake me up if I am sleeping. Thanks for checking in. Pete <> <> Visit Sledheads of Frederic on Facebook >>>> <> 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. FREDERIC - GAYLORD AREA UPDATE via Sledheads of Frederic , Michigan Snowmobiling >> #gaylord #snowphotos 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. FREDERIC - GAYLORD AREA UPDATE via Sledheads of Frederic , Michigan Snowmobiling >> Its 19 and rock hard out there. Even harder than yesterday, it was down to about 6 overnight and the moist snow that there was yesterday is even harder today. Still waiting on a loader to come and plow out my storage area. They say they cant make it till wednesday. I have never seen this type of snow event before. Still businesses closed today. I did have 3 sleds ride in this morning an they said its a bit tough. There were really alot of sleds out and about yesterday but I have only seen the 3 this morning and its now 11 a.m. ON the bright side I did see the grayling groomer come thru Frederic and thats good but it has to even be tough on the groomers trying to knock that ice down. Supposed to get warmer in the next couple days. This is a tough one. The swamp got open about noon thirty yesterday and they had a steady stream of people over there all day. Wish I had better things to say. Thanks for checking in. Pete #gaylord #snowphotos frederic-mi.com WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Lake effect snow lingers across northwest Lower and pushes inland this afternoon. Hazardous travel with reduced visibilities at times will be possible with winds decreasing through the day. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyLake effect snow lingers across northwest Lower and pushes inland this afternoon. Hazardous travel with reduced visibilities at times will be possible with winds decreasing through the day. <> Latest Trail Reports – Quick Links <>Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
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.