Sault Ste. Marie Area Trail Report – 02/19
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 02/19
2/19/25
Sorry for the delay guys! Busy work day. Here’s a report from Brimley Bill, and also some pics from his run. Bryan also sent us some from his run on the city trails last night. Please use caution on 449 in the city as the utility company is in there doing some work again. Stay on the groomed trail and you’ll be just fine.
Bill’s report-
“Last night I ran the Pisten Bully and Dubie drag on trail 480 from Raco to our Spile Dam Rd turnaround. Then trail 8 on the Powerline, and from Raco all the way to the Sault and back.
The night started with blowing and drifting lake effect snow, with poor visibility. After a while it calmed down, but left quite a bit of fresh snow, and lots of drifting across the trails.
On my return trip from the Sault back to Raco, the only tracks on the trail were left by deer, rabbits, and other wildlife. So the trails had many hours to set up for morning riders.”
Quiet here during the week, and things are pretty excellent! We now have 1 of the 2 groomers that were down fixed, too! Thank you to all of our volunteers for your hard work, and for stepping up to cover while they were down! Teamwork makes the dream work! ❄️❄️❄️
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SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 02/19
Brimley Bill is heading back to Raco from the Soo. A little aurora borealis shining behind the clouds tonight. 💚❄
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SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 02/18
2/18/25
Good morning everyone!
It’s Tuesday, so time for another trail report from Steve. Here we go!
“Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster leading up to our Monday night grooming run.
With both groomers in the Soo barn broke down and waiting on repairs, Dennis and I spent the day tossing around ideas of what we were going to do with our first free Monday night in a long time.
Things changed around 3 pm when our groomer boss Mike called with some good news and bad news.
The good news was, we were going to be able to still groom. The bad news was, the available groomer was sitting down in Kinross.
I spent some time reflecting on the five-year sentence I served grooming out of our Raco location and decided driving to Kinross from the Soo wasn’t all that bad. Time wise, it is about half as long as driving to Raco after work.
Dennis and I made a plan that worked for both of us to do our normal Soo to Kinross run on trail 49 in reverse.
I drove to Kinross and warmed up the groomer before heading north. Our groomer sits outside there and it really made me appreciate the barn in the Soo where everything is warm and thawed out before starting our runs.
I had an uneventful trip into town. I met lots of sleds and received thumbs up from most of them.
I reached out to Groomer Lane just south of the Soo. He had made the last trip into town from Kinross and groomed all the way to Trail 8. I decided at that point to groom the east side of town and went to the casino and also to the high school. Most of our city trails have now been groomed in the last few days, utilizing our Kinross groomer.
Overall, trails are in great condition. The top layer of snow on the trail is soft. Trails are pretty flat and should be enjoyable to ride.
There is still utility work going on inside the city limits around the trail to the casino. It is signed well and one section of trail is blocked off. I was able to sneak the groomer around the area and keep a safe path through. Please use caution in this area as they are working in many spots along the way.
Hope to continue to see sleds enjoying our trail system.
Steve Lawson”
Thank you to all of our volunteers, especially to those that have put in extra time and rearranged their schedules to help us out while we are down 2 machines. I rode yesterday and you’d never know it. They are all doing a fantastic job!
Stay warm if you’re out the next few days. It’s brutally cold, and trails are very hard packed, especially in the morning so scratchers are recommended if you have them. No significant snow in the next few days, but there’s tons around. We could use a break from shoveling and plowing LOL.
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Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association Facebook Page
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Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Here's the latest on the wintry mix tonight into Friday. Expect 3-6" of snow across the E UP, up to 2" of snow/sleet in northern lower N of M-72 in addition to a light glaze of ice, and up to 0.10" of ice accumulation south of M-72. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskey #soo #newberryHere's the latest on the wintry mix tonight into Friday. Expect 3-6" of snow across the E UP, up to 2" of snow/sleet in northern lower N of M-72 in addition to a light glaze of ice, and up to 0.10" of ice accumulation south of M-72.
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> A mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain may result in slippery roadways and isolated power outages tonight into Friday morning. Those with travel plans should leave extra time for travel! #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea
FROM Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 12/25/25
We hope you’re having a great Christmas! Trails are pretty hard packed and icy in spots, and we definitely need snow.
Big thanks to rider Chuck for sending us these pics. These are the worst of the worst spots on our trail system right now. This is trail 49 south of the Soo, north of Kinross. He said that overall the trail is pretty fair with the exception of these spots.
These are the usual trouble spots in the early season. However, we normally can’t even groom this trail until mid January so we are pleased to be ahead of the game.
If we get the new snow that’s forecasted, these areas will easily be filled in.
Always important to share the bad spots too, so we appreciate the pics Chuck!
We’ll keep you updated as snow returns tomorrow into the weekend. ❄️❄️❄️ #soo #snowphotos
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Expect a wintery mix to develop across the U.P. tonight and continue into Friday morning, ending west to east through the day. Mainly snow is expected for the far north and east with mainly freezing rain near the MI/WI stateline. Those with travel plans should leave extra time for travel as roads could be slippery. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect tonight into Friday for the entire U.P.
For more information, visit the full briefing packet here :https://www.weather.gov/media/mqt/DssPacket.pdf #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea
Can we expect any significant lake effect between now and New Year's?
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> Merry Christmas everyone! Santa looks to be bringing us some snow! Have a wonderful day with family and friends🎄❄️❤️ #sooMerry Christmas everyone! Santa looks to be bringing us some snow! Have a wonderful day with family and friends🎄❄️❤️
WEATHER UPDATE via Michigan Storm Chasers >> On top of our second call ice map, here is our second call snowfall map for December 26th, 2025. It's a messy system with multiple precipitation types, so be sure to click on our page to go see our ice forecast.... #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyOn top of our second call ice map, here is our second call snowfall map for December 26th, 2025. It's a messy system with multiple precipitation types, so be sure to click on our page to go see our ice forecast.
Discussion
The north side of the low will have much colder air, and the deformation zone for this event will be set up across the eastern UP and Lake Superior region. Totals greater than 1" of snow (some melting) will be confined north of M-55 to the Mackinac Bridge, while totals closer to the 3"+ mark are confined from St. Ignace up to Paradise and Sault Ste. Marie. Additionally, the Keweenaw Peninsula also may see the highest snowfall totals too.
You may have noticed that we added a new color for this event only. Because there is a gradual change from rain to snow... freezing rain, and even sleet is expected with this event. Sleet is like the shared sibling between snow and freezing rain. Sleet is snow that melted to rain really high up immediately after falling from the clouds, but spent enough time in the cold sector after melting to reform into tiny pellets. Freezing rain, however, forms when there isn't enough time for the rain to reform back into those tiny ice pellets due to that warm sector close to the ground, but because the ground itself IS a cold sector, it freezes on contact. Yes, sleet is slippery, but due to its properties, it's not quite as impactful. Still, because of the sleet's size, it accumulates in tenths of an inch similar to snow instead of hundredths like freezing rain. As a result, much of the white trace-1" corridor will likely fall as <1" of both snow and sleet. Again, not a huge amount, but worth mentioning. Timing for this snowfall will be similar to that of the ice. Anytime from 6 am EST Friday through the end of the day Friday is the expected duration.
Winter weather advisories are now in effect for the eastern UP regarding this snowfall. We will have traffic impact maps and timing maps coming later this afternoon after our Christmas morning activities. See you all back here soon!
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WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Overall travel conditions should be smooth through Christmas Day. A system tracking through the region brings a round of snow and possibly freezing rain Christmas night into Friday. Highest snowfall amounts are expected in the northern half of the U.P. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaOverall travel conditions should be smooth through Christmas Day. A system tracking through the region brings a round of snow and possibly freezing rain Christmas night into Friday. Highest snowfall amounts are expected in the northern half of the U.P.
WEATHER UPDATE via Meteorologist Brad Sugden >> There will be some snow with Friday's system to the north! Nothing too crazy, but a few inches none-the-less. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaThere will be some snow with Friday's system to the north! Nothing too crazy, but a few inches none-the-less.
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It's beautiful here today and warm with a slight chill
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 12/24/25
Merry Christmas Eve! A curious deer checked out our snow gauge overnight. A bit of a warm up kept groomers parked yesterday, but cold has returned this morning, and there’s a decent amount of snow in the forecast in the coming days. Things were super flat before the warm up yesterday, so once again we have an excellent base.
We will keep you posted! Enjoy time with your families and friends 🎄❄️ #soo #snowphotos
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> If you have post-travel plans to or from lower MI Thursday night into Friday, be aware of the potential for light snow and freezing rain to impact travel, especially over parts of the Lower Peninsula. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaIf you have post-travel plans to or from lower MI Thursday night into Friday, be aware of the potential for light snow and freezing rain to impact travel, especially over parts of the Lower Peninsula. #906wx #miwx
WEATHER UPDATE via Midwest Weather >> I'm going up north to the U.P of Michigan on Friday to chase a potentially significant lake effect snow event from late Saturday night through Tuesday. Snowfall accumulations could be 1-2', if not higher, as high-res model guidance comes in when we get closer.
Another lake-effect snow event is increasingly likely behind an arctic front next Wednesday night through Friday, which we will need to keep an eye on. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyI'm going up north to the U.P of Michigan on Friday to chase a potentially significant lake effect snow event from late Saturday night through Tuesday. Snowfall accumulations could be 1-2', if not higher, as high-res model guidance comes in when we get closer.
Another lake-effect snow event is increasingly likely behind an arctic front next Wednesday night through Friday, which we will need to keep an eye on.
We will be in GM for the week! Bring it!
Your wasting your time ... gonna be a small.snow event
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> A cold front will push through this afternoon and evening bringing gusty northwest wind of 25-35 mph near Lake Superior and over the Keweenaw. Otherwise low chances for snow and or sleet are forecast for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (10-30% chance). #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaA cold front will push through this afternoon and evening bringing gusty northwest wind of 25-35 mph near Lake Superior and over the Keweenaw. Otherwise low chances for snow and or sleet are forecast for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (10-30% chance).
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