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West Michigan gets a lot of snow, but not quite a blizzard

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The first day of February brought the first big snowstorm of the season to West Michigan.  Sure, we’ve seen plenty of snow this winter (and much of it before winter even started!), but the large majority of that snow has been of the lake-effect variety.

However, while it can be tempting to call every big snowstorm a “blizzard,” this system didn’t quite meet the official criteria.

According to the National Weather Service, a blizzard is when snow or blowing snow reduces visibility to 1/4 mile or less, with winds sustained or frequently gusting to 35 mph or higher for a span of at least three hours.

Several locations got close to those conditions.  The Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids recorded wind gusts of 35 to 40 mph for three hours Sunday afternoon with visibility at 1/2 mile.  Places like Kalamazoo and Battle Creek saw the heavy snow with 1/4 mile visibility for three hours, but wind gusts were generally less than 30 mph during that time.

Total snowfall amounts ranged from 6.5″ in Muskegon and nearly 10″ in Grand Rapids to between 12 and 18 inches in most places south of Grand Rapids.

Here is a full list of snow reports from the National Weather Service:

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
925 AM EST MON FEB 2 2015

...TIME...  ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
...DATE...  ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0930 PM     SNOW             SCHOOLCRAFT             42.12N 85.63W
02/01/2015  M15.0 INCH       KALAMAZOO          MI   TRAINED SPOTTER  

1000 PM     SNOW             MOUNT PLEASANT          43.59N 84.78W
02/01/2015  E6.0 INCH        ISABELLA           MI   TRAINED SPOTTER  

1100 PM     SNOW             2 SSE KALAMAZOO         42.25N 85.57W
02/01/2015  E14.2 INCH       KALAMAZOO          MI   TRAINED SPOTTE

1140 PM     SNOW             MATTAWAN                42.21N 85.79W
02/01/2015  E13.0 INCH       VAN BUREN          MI   PUBLIC        

1145 PM     SNOW             3 NW NEW ERA            43.58N 86.39W
02/01/2015  E5.0 INCH        OCEANA             MI   PUBLIC           
1145 PM     SNOW             PORTAGE                 42.20N 85.59W
02/01/2015  M13.7 INCH       KALAMAZOO          MI   STORM CHASER     
0800 AM     SNOW             3 W HOWARD CITY         43.40N 85.53W
02/02/2015  M6.0 INCH        MONTCALM           MI   PUBLIC           
1200 AM     SNOW             2 NE BATH               42.84N 84.42W
02/02/2015  M12.6 INCH       CLINTON            MI   PUBLIC           
1200 AM     SNOW             BATTLE CREEK            42.30N 85.23W
02/02/2015  E18.5 INCH       CALHOUN            MI   PUBLIC           
1200 AM     SNOW             5 SW SHEPHERD           43.48N 84.77W
02/02/2015  E6.0 INCH        ISABELLA           MI   STORM CHASER     
1200 AM     SNOW             1 WNW KALAMAZOO         42.28N 85.61W
02/02/2015  M14.1 INCH       KALAMAZOO          MI   COCORAHS              STORM TOTAL. MIDNIGHT TO MIDNIGHT TOTAL 13.8 INCH. 

1210 AM     SNOW             3 ESE LANSING           42.69N 84.50W
02/02/2015  E10.0 INCH       INGHAM             MI   COCORAHS         
1227 AM     SNOW             OSHTEMO                 42.26N 85.68W
02/02/2015  M15.0 INCH       KALAMAZOO          MI   TRAINED SPOTTER  

0100 AM     SNOW             3 WSW CASCADE           42.89N 85.54W
02/02/2015  M9.1 INCH        KENT               MI   OFFICIAL NWS OBS 

0209 AM     SNOW             1 E KENTWOOD            42.88N 85.58W
02/02/2015  M10.5 INCH       KENT               MI   PUBLIC           
0421 AM     SNOW             BELLEVUE                42.44N 85.01W
02/02/2015  E12.0 INCH       EATON              MI   TRAINED SPOTTER  

0530 AM     SNOW             BLOOMINGDALE            42.38N 85.96W
02/02/2015  M12.0 INCH       VAN BUREN          MI   CO-OP OBSERVER   
0604 AM     SNOW             7 NNW SCOTTVILLE        44.04N 86.34W
02/02/2015  M4.1 INCH        MASON              MI   COCORAHS         
    COCORAHS STATION SCOTTVILLE 6.6 NNW /MI-MS-1/ SNOW DURATION 24 HOURS. 

0630 AM     SNOW             1 ENE BEECHWOOD         42.80N 86.12W
02/02/2015  M11.0 INCH       OTTAWA             MI   CO-OP OBSERVER
   CO-OP OBSERVER STATION HOLLAND /HOLM4/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0635 AM     SNOW             4 SSW HASTINGS          42.59N 85.32W
02/02/2015  M18.0 INCH       BARRY              MI   COCORAHS         COCORAHS STATION HASTINGS 4.3 SSW /MI-BR-13/ SNOW DURATION 24 HOURS. 

0645 AM     SNOW             4 NNE SANDSTONE         42.31N 84.48W
02/02/2015  M14.3 INCH       JACKSON            MI   STORM CHASER  

0645 AM     SNOW             3 WNW DELTON            42.52N 85.46W
02/02/2015  E14.0 INCH       BARRY              MI   TRAINED SPOTTER  

0700 AM     SNOW             1 SSW WAVERLY           42.72N 84.63W
02/02/2015  M9.7 INCH        EATON              MI   OFFICIAL NWS OBS 

0700 AM     SNOW             2 WSW CLOVERVILLE       43.18N 86.20W
02/02/2015  M6.5 INCH        MUSKEGON           MI   OFFICIAL NWS OBS 

0700 AM     SNOW             1 W HASTINGS            42.65N 85.30W
02/02/2015  M12.5 INCH       BARRY              MI   CO-OP OBSERVER   CO-OP OBSERVER STATION HASTINGS /HASM4/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0700 AM     SNOW             BIG RAPIDS              43.70N 85.48W
02/02/2015  M6.2 INCH        MECOSTA            MI   CO-OP OBSERVER   CO-OP OBSERVER STATION BIG RAPIDS WATER WORKS /BGRM4/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0700 AM     SNOW             GREENVILLE              43.18N 85.25W
02/02/2015  M7.0 INCH        MONTCALM           MI   TRAINED SPOTTER  

0700 AM     SNOW             1 WNW ALMA              43.38N 84.67W
02/02/2015  M5.5 INCH        GRATIOT            MI   CO-OP OBSERVER   CO-OP OBSERVER STATION ALMA /ALMM4/ SNOW DURATION 24 HOURS. 

0700 AM     SNOW             1 NNE HOPKINS           42.64N 85.76W
02/02/2015  M10.8 INCH       ALLEGAN            MI   CO-OP OBSERVER
   CO-OP OBSERVER STATION HOPKINS 1 N /HPKM4/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0700 AM     SNOW             1 NNE SAINT JOHNS       43.02N 84.55W
02/02/2015  M9.2 INCH        CLINTON            MI   CO-OP OBSERVER
   CO-OP OBSERVER STATION SAINT JOHNS /STJM4/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0700 AM     SNOW             HART                    43.70N 86.37W
02/02/2015  M6.0 INCH        OCEANA             MI   CO-OP OBSERVER  CO-OP OBSERVER STATION HART /HRTM4/ SNOW DURATION 24 HOURS. 

0700 AM     SNOW             1 WNW REEMAN            43.45N 86.03W
02/02/2015  M6.7 INCH        NEWAYGO            MI   CO-OP OBSERVER   CO-OP OBSERVER STATION 4 WSW FREMONT /FREM4/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0724 AM     SNOW             4 SE MCBRIDE            43.31N 84.99W
02/02/2015  M6.0 INCH        MONTCALM           MI   COCORAHS      
  COCORAHS STATION STANTON 5.0 ENE /MI-MT-5/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0734 AM     SNOW             1 SSW ALLENDALE         42.97N 85.96W
02/02/2015  M5.8 INCH        OTTAWA             MI   COCORAHS       COCORAHS STATION ALLENDALE 1.3 SSW /MI-OW-30/ SNOW DURATION 24 HOURS. 

0735 AM     SNOW             2 WSW LANSING           42.70N 84.59W
02/02/2015  M12.0 INCH       INGHAM             MI   COCORAHS         COCORAHS STATION LANSING 1.9 WSW /MI-IH-31/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0736 AM     SNOW             4 NNE PAW PAW           42.27N 85.86W
02/02/2015  M15.8 INCH       VAN BUREN          MI   COCORAHS        COCORAHS STATION PAW PAW 3.6 NNE /MI-VB-4/SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 
0808 AM     SNOW             5 SSE WOODVILLE         43.61N 85.64W
02/02/2015  M4.1 INCH        NEWAYGO            MI   COCORAHS       COCORAHS STATION WHITE CLOUD 7.5 ENE /MI-NW-8/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0817 AM     SNOW             2 W WAYLAND             42.67N 85.68W
02/02/2015  M11.1 INCH       ALLEGAN            MI   COCORAHS         COCORAHS STATION WAYLAND 2.0 W /MI-AN-1/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 
0819 AM     SNOW             4 W PORTAGE             42.21N 85.66W
02/02/2015  M17.0 INCH       KALAMAZOO          MI   COCORAHS         COCORAHS STATION KALAMAZOO 6.0 SW /MI-KZ-1/ SNOW DURATION 48 HOURS. 

0830 AM     SNOW             4 ENE RIVES JUNCTION    42.42N 84.39W
02/02/2015  M12.9 INCH       JACKSON            MI   TRAINED SPOTTER  

0830 AM     SNOW             1 SSW EAST GRAND RAPIDS 42.94N 85.61W
02/02/2015  M9.1 INCH        KENT               MI   CO-OP OBSERVER

0830 AM     SNOW             3 SW IRVING             42.66N 85.47W
02/02/2015  M14.5 INCH       BARRY              MI   CO-OP OBSERVER   
0830 AM     SNOW             2 S ROCKFORD            43.10N 85.56W
02/02/2015  M8.8 INCH        KENT               MI   AMATEUR RADIO 

0830 AM     SNOW             OKEMOS                  42.71N 84.41W
02/02/2015  M11.8 INCH       INGHAM             MI   PUBLIC           
0845 AM     SNOW             2 NE GALESBURG          42.31N 85.40W
02/02/2015  M15.3 INCH       KALAMAZOO          MI   PUBLIC           
0845 AM     SNOW             4 SSE BATH              42.77N 84.41W
02/02/2015  M9.0 INCH        CLINTON            MI   PUBLIC