michsnowfreak

I totally respect everyone having their own opinion/twist on. Its just me personally, Ive seen so many times you get a bad stretch in Dec up to mid-Jan and the word "futility" (which I loosely think of as top 5) starts popping up, then we end up with average to above average snowfall. And thats also why I say numbers are just one aspect of the story of a winter. Detroit is at 23.5", which is 18th least snowy winter, and just 0.7" would knock us down to #20 and 1.7" knock us out of the top 20, and thats easily doable. Doesnt mean it was an enjoyable winter at all, just means that quite a few winters saw less snow fall. A look at this funky snow season at DTW - since 1880 October - 11th snowiest out of 144 November - 64th snowiest out of 144 December - 2nd least snowy out of 144 January - 27th snowiest out of 144 February - 20th least snowy out of 144 March - 12th least snowy out of 144

This is an excellent example of two of my weather beliefs: 1) Its WAY too early to even discuss the likelihood of season futility being achieved in the midwest/Lakes in Dec, Jan, or Feb, no matter how bad it has been. 2) Season total snowfall is just 1 metric of a winter for a true winter weenie. Doesnt always tell the entire story.

Fair enough. The January stretch was excellent, so I'd probably lean closer to D than D-.

Detroits northern suburbs hve a bit of a micro climate for heavier snowfall due to elevation. Particularly with LES & borderline events. Some years it's more influential than other years when you get a lot of borderline events. A great example would be this January 12th. The heart of the metro area got about 4-5 inches of 5:1 ratio snow, but the elevated northern suburbs got 8-9 inches with the same amount of liquid equivalent. It would be great to have snow measurements from Detroit city Airport, but essentially that is nothing more than an unmanned asos, so the only actual reports to come out of Detroit proper since the late 1960s are spotter/coop reports. Since it juts east into the Lake/River, the city proper and northeast into SE macomb County is one of the worst spots in the area for snow overall, so DTW in the suburbs gets a little bit more (even though they are South and West of the city) and would be more representative of the area (probably why they became the official site in 1966). However, when you get a few events throughout a season where the city gets noticeably more (and Mar 22 is an extreme example), I would imagine DTW only averages a few inches more annually. The last 2 winters have been very North to South oriented in the region. DTW has more than doubled Toledo's snowfall each of the last 2 winters, and detroit's northern suburbs have handily had more than DTW. Law of averages says big Ohio Winter probably coming within a few years.

Surprised that "generous" lol.

My sister has lived in Saint Clair Shores for 10 years now and the number of times we get more snow than her far outnumbers times we get less (don't think I don't ask for updates in our group text every single snowfall). But yesterday they got nailed. Seemed quite high ratio too. When I was out with my nephews, the snow in the shaded areas remained fluffy while in the sun it was great packing and rapidly melting.

2013-14 is the snowiest on record! A local climatologist said when you combine everything together, it was easily the most severe winter on record for the area. The official tally was #1 snowiest and #8 coldest,m (plus the 4th coldest Nov-Mar on record) but when you factor in the wind and the high snow depths (snow depths were in the double digits for nearly the entire time early january through mid march) it is king. Winters before the official record started always fascinate me because we have tidbits of information that we can piece together, but not enough to make us say for certain what happened. I have a couple books where people kept journals of the weather, so I'm trying to piece together ideas of how the Winters were. Needless to say, while it was a colder era overall, there were multiple mild "open" winters as well (Mild winters that were unusually bare of snow were always referred to as open winters back in the day). Your area in general is a bit more feast/famine than we are here in the lakes, so I'd think 100 inches would certainly seem possible If you could get a parade of noreasters & enough cold air.

Yes. December 2015 was very mild here too, however, when you add in the fact that your area is warmer to begin with, plus the higher departures, 2015 was absolutely more impressive on the East Coast. Meanwhile, March 2012 was bonkers here. And I don't care to ever repeat it. All it's doing is asking for imminent disaster to the fruit crops in the Great Lakes. Just 3 years later, we would see an equally impressive negative departure in february 2015. Speaking of 2011-12, yes, it was a terrible snow season, but it was totally allowed considering the stretch it resided within. The current 30 year average snowfall at Detroit is 45", but that is thanks in part to a number of very snowy winters in the 2000s/10s, as the long term average is closer to 41". 2007-08: 71.7" 2008-09: 65.7" 2009-10: 43.7" 2010-11: 69.1" 2011-12: 26.0" 2012-13: 47.7" 2013-14: 94.9" 2014-15: 47.5"

I would go D/D-. My lowest seasonal snowfall (21.3") in 29 years of records. A horrendous December and a bad Feb and March too. A terrible winter for snowcover. No 6"+ storms either, but we were kind of due for a winter without one as we have been racking them up, so might as well be during the train wreck of 2023-24. All that said. I couldn't go F as many here seem to have hinted they would, for: -Halloween snow. It was neat to see a dusting during trick or treat. My first measurable Oct snow since 2006. -Nov 27 whiteout squall. It was legit near zero visibility for a few moments. I was on the road and could not a see a traffic light that was feet away. -Jan 12 thundersnow was incredible. The 4.2" snowfall would be my largest event of the season, but would have been much greater if not for the 5-1 ratios. -Jan 11-24: the 2 weeks that featured deep winter, the one true saving grace of the season. Snow fell nearly daily, multiple events, wind chills to -30, a brutal cold MLK day (hi/lo 9/-3), and a week of 5-7" snowpack was perfect for all outdoor winter fun. -Feb 15- in and out like a summer storm, a deluge of snow came down for an hour and dropped 2".

Do you keep track of daily snow in Eastpointe or just some events?

If you're going to get screwed on a storm/cutoff, no better time than Spring. The snow just gets obliterated in the sun. Built an Easter snow bunny with my nephews at my sister's house, and despite the cold and dry air, sun is just killing the snow. Needless to say my half inch is gone. What's YYZ season? Are they the only station in Toronto that does snow? DTW is at 23.5". If no more measurable snow falls, this would rank as the 18th least snowy winter. A terrible season regardless, but January January'd so that gave the middle finger to those wishing for true futility. Detroit city probably got about 5" to DTWs 0.5" yesterday, but the season would be a wash I'm sure, as DTW frequently gets more than the city, and I can confirm this in January. Detroit city has not had snow measurements in over 50 years. In my 29 years of measuring snow in my backyard, this is only my 4th season in the 20s, and my lowest of the entire lot at 21.2". The previous low was 25.5" in 2011-12 & high 96.2" in 2013-14. Hoping year #30 is a good season next year!

We will never know. But sounds like a good bet. I know in at least the 1930s-70s, the monthly logs would have the peak snow depth, not just the peak depth at obs time (if it happened to be deeper). But now it just goes by 7am, and probably the same back in 1900.

Yeah. Over the course of history, there have been a handful of really potent storms after mid March, but we really haven't had one in a while. But on the other hand, the number of 3-5" type snows past mid March, especially in April, has really been impressive in recent years.

Razor sharp cutoff in wayne/washtenaw County. I received 0.4" (season to date 21.2") and DTW also received 0.4" (season to date 23.4"). Meanwhile northern parts of the County had a solid 4-5". Drove 25-30 minutes to Belle Isle in Detroit and it was a mid-winter wonderland after just a dusting at home. Naturally I was pissed, but it would have been a thousand times worse if it was during winter. A lot easier to take in spring. My sister lives on the lakeshore in southern macomb county (alek-esque), usually one of the worst spots for snow in SE MI but she was one of the jackpot areas with around 5". The irony is, her snow depth peaked in January at just 4" (when most of the metro was 6-8") so technically today was her deepest of the season. My backyard (L) and Belle Isle (R), a mere 30 minute drive away.

I honestly have no clue.

So not as many as I recalled. Quite a few in the 3-5" range but only 2 officially 6+ post Mar 15th since 2000. 7.2"- Apr 5/6, 2009 7.3"- Mar 21/22, 2008 I had an 8" storm Mar 25/26, 2002 where DTW only had 4.7" (huge cutoff).

I've heard NWS mets frequently say not to add up the point and click, which I never understood lol

Wow weve has several in the last 20+ years. Good luck!

1931-32 was definitely warmer for the southern lakes and Midwest, but I think for the upper Midwest 2023-24 was a bit warmer.

I would think 1973-74 is the best early analog in that case.

Wow. Just curious? What kind of numbers are you talking for it to be biggest in a generation.

Had a dusting of snow yesterday morning, just 0.1" here and at DTW but north of Detroit had anywhere from a half inch to as much as 1.5" near Flint. Was a cold and blustery day with windchills in the teens, classic strong nino wintry start to spring.

I have 2 apple trees planted in fall. They are at stage 2 on the chart.

Here's a guide for Apple trees

Assuming that's a typo on the bottom graph (meaning it should be 2020-21) I'd have to say his forecast was dead on here. The "normal" line runs through Detroit and DTW finished the winter +0.1°. Also, am I reading correctly? Did he actually forecast 2013-14 to be a warm winter