A major March winter storm brought heavy snow, ice, strong winds, dangerous travel, and prolonged power outages across Northern Michigan. The hardest-hit areas include Roscommon, Alcona, Alpena, Ogemaw, Missaukee, and Wexford counties, where thousands of homes and businesses lost electricity and emergency declarations were issued. In Roscommon County alone, nearly 90% of customers were reported without power early in the event, and more than 10,000 customers were still out as of the morning of March 18. State officials declared a state of emergency for several counties and a statewide energy emergency to support fuel delivery and response operations. Roscommon County declared a local emergency after the storm, with nearly 90% of the county without electricity at one point. More than 100,000 Northern Michigan residents were reported without power on March 16. As of the morning of March 18 , outage counts still included about 10,448 in Roscommon County , 6,665 in Ogemaw County , and 2,532 in Iosco County . Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Alcona, Alpena, Delta, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Roscommon, and Wexford counties and also declared a statewide energy emergency .
Our team is bringing a mobile kitchen into the community to serve hot meals, working alongside a local church to reach as many people as possible. When the power is out and the cold sets in, a hot, chef-prepared meal doesn’t just warm the body; it touches the soul. If you would like to help us serve families facing frigid temperatures without a way to stay warm, you can support this work by visiting the link.
Structured data for this disaster: https://app.servesource.org/api/apps/695c704f24f26045c4d0f1c0/functions/publicDisasterData?disaster=northern-michigan-winter-storm-march-2026
Full page: https://app.servesource.org/DisasterDetail?disaster=northern-michigan-winter-storm-march-2026