Here’s a look at how much snow various parts of Michigan have had already this winter.

The general theme of the snowfall this winter is amounts vary greatly compared to normal amounts of snow. Much of southeast Lower Michigan has near normal snowfall so far. Southwest Lower is significantly below normal in the snow department. Northern Lower Michigan has a mixed snow tally now, and the western U.P. has snow really piling up.

Snowbanks on January 31, 2020 at Toivola in the Keweenaw Peninsula. (Photo courtesy Christina Huhta)

The Keweenaw Road Commission reports 215 inches of snow so far this winter. The normal amount to this date at Houghton in the Keweenaw Peninsula is 184 inches.

Here’s a map showing how much snow has fallen so far this winter.

Snow so far as of January 31, 2020 (National Snow Analysis)

The snow analysis above is derived from satellite imagery. It seems to be quite accurate when compared to actual observations.

Here’s a snow rundown of some cities across Michigan.

City Season snow total on January 31 Normal amount to date Houghton 215″ 184″ Marquette 132″ 115″ Sault Ste. Marie 80″ 81″ Traverse City 59″ 69" Alpena 42″ 48″ Houghton Lake 38″ 42″ Muskegon 36″ 62″ Ann Arbor 33″ 36″ Grand Rapids 32″ 49″ Flint 31″ 27″ Kalamazoo 29″ 48″ Lansing 24″ 30″ Jackson 24″ 24" Saginaw/Bay City 22″ 24″ Detroit 22″ 23″

There are some notable points in this list of snowfall totals. The snowbelt area along the southern Lake Michigan shoreline is significantly lower on snow as compared to average. Muskegon is 26 inches below average on snowfall and Grand Rapids is 17 inches behind an average winter. Kalamazoo is also significantly behind average.

Southeast Lower’s snow totals might surprise you, but do you remember the Veteran’s Day snowstorm. That’s the snowstorm that is putting us around average snowfall in southeast Lower.

Traverse City is getting significantly below average, and other parts of northern Lower are starting to slip below average on snow. Early in the winter northeast Lower around Alpena was pacing toward a very snowy winter.

And of course there is always the Upper Peninsula. The amounts are heavy compared to Lower Michigan, but how do they compare to average? The eastern U.P. is pacing at around an average winter for snow. When you look at Marquette and the Keweenaw Peninsula, snow amounts are running about 10 percent to 20 percent above average.

Total snowfall for the winter of 2019-2020 as of January 31, 2020. (National Snow Analysis)

The Upper Peninsula has had more snow than anywhere in the U.S. east of the Rockies.