Key takeaways
- Alberta clippers move fast and usually bring light snow, strong winds and colder air: often one pass, then drifting.
- Colorado lows and panhandle hooks come up from the southwest: longer, wetter storms, with sleet or freezing rain when the track runs close.
- When a low passes south of Michigan, through the Ohio Valley, Macomb County sits on the snowy side. The February 1-2, 2015 storm left 16.7 inches at Detroit Metro.
- Lake-effect snow is mostly not a factor here, though a north-northeast wind off Lake Huron can reach the eastern county.
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Why does the type of storm matter?
Snow totals get the headlines, but the type of storm decides the work. It sets how long the snow falls, how much water the snow carries and what the wind does afterward. A 4-inch clipper and a 4-inch Colorado low are different jobs: one is a quick pass on light snow, the other can be a long day of heavy, wet snow with ice underneath. Heavy wet snow vs light snow explains the weight difference.
The storm types at a glance
| Storm type | Where it comes from | Typical snow here | What it means for service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta clipper | Alberta, Canada, moving fast to the southeast | Light snow, strong wind, colder air behind it | Often one pass, then drifting cleanups; salt stalls in the cold that follows |
| Colorado low | Southeast Colorado or northeast New Mexico, tracking northeast over several days | Longer storms, heavier and often wet snow | Several passes on long storms, heavy windrows, plow and then treat |
| Panhandle hook | Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, curving northeast toward the Great Lakes | Heavy snow north of the low's track, mixed precipitation near it | Snow, sleet or freezing rain depending on the track; plow and treat |
| Ohio Valley low | Lows passing south of Michigan, through the Ohio Valley | Long, steady snow on the cold side; can be the biggest storms | Passes during the storm and a cleanup after; wind can drift cleared pavement |
| Lake-effect snow | Cold air crossing a warmer Great Lake | Rare in Macomb County | Usually nothing; an occasional band off Lake Huron in the east |
Definitions from the NWS glossary. Real storms blend these types, and the forecast for the storm in front of you always outranks the label.
Alberta clippers: fast, light, windy and cold behind
The NWS describes an Alberta clipper as a fast-moving low that drops southeast out of Alberta through the Plains, the Midwest and the Great Lakes, usually with light snow, strong winds and colder temperatures. The snow often ends in a few hours.
The work comes after it. Wind behind a clipper drifts snow back across cleared driveways and walks, and the colder air that follows can take pavement below the temperature where rock salt works. See does salt work in cold weather.
Colorado lows and panhandle hooks: long, heavy and often wet
Colorado lows form in southeast Colorado or northeast New Mexico and track northeast across the central Plains over several days; the NWS glossary credits them with blizzards and hazardous winter weather. Panhandle hooks start in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, move east and then hook northeast toward the Great Lakes. In winter they usually lay heavy snow north of the low's track, with thunderstorms possible south of it.
Storms like these can pull moisture a long way north. When NWS Marquette documented a classic Colorado low in January 2018, moisture drawn from the Gulf produced exceptionally heavy, wet snow, averaging just 7 inches of snow for every inch of water.
For Macomb County, the track decides everything. A low passing to the south keeps the county on the cold, snowy side. A track across or north of the metro area brings warmer air, and with it sleet, freezing rain or rain. That can mean plowing and treating in the same storm. See freezing rain, sleet and snow.
Ohio Valley storms: the big ones
Some of southeast Michigan's heaviest snows come from lows that stay south of the state. NWS Detroit/Pontiac's record of February 1-2, 2015 describes a strong, slow-moving low that tracked through the Ohio Valley and dropped 8 to 17 inches along and south of I-69. Detroit Metro Airport measured 16.7 inches, the third-highest storm total on record there, and Richmond in northern Macomb County measured 11.7.
Snow fell for about 24 hours, and close to 30 hours near the Ohio border. With air in the low 20s and northeast winds gusting around 25 mph, the snow was powdery and drifted significantly. A storm like that is not one visit. A day of snow means passes during the storm and a cleanup after it, and drifting fills some cleared driveways back in. How snow plow routes work explains how routes handle repeat passes.
Is lake-effect snow a factor in Macomb County?
Mostly not. Lake-effect snow forms when cold, dry air crosses a large, warmer lake, and the heavy lake-effect belts are elsewhere in Michigan. What Lake St. Clair does to snow near the shore is covered in how much snow Macomb County gets.
The exception is a north-northeast wind blowing the length of Lake Huron. It can carry a band of snow into St. Clair County and the eastern edge of Macomb County, as it did with the first snow of the 2025-26 winter.
Sources
- NWS glossary: Alberta Clipper
- NWS glossary: Colorado Low
- NWS glossary: Panhandle Hook
- NWS Marquette: Colorado low winter storm of January 22-23, 2018 — Gulf moisture and a 7-to-1 snow-to-water ratio
- NWS Detroit/Pontiac: Storm Data, February 2015 — the February 1-2, 2015 Ohio Valley storm
Written by the Macomb Lawn & Snow Solutions team in Macomb Township, Michigan. We plow and salt homes and businesses across all 26 Macomb County communities, November 15 to April 15. Published October 5, 2026. About us · How we research these guides · How our dispatch works