michsnowfreak

Been a good winter, why not!

Was worried about a bust with the hrrr moving everything north, but snowing and blowing nicely. Approaching 2" new. Very wintry out

2F with wind chills hovering at -15 to -20 at DTW this morning. Looks tundra-like outside with the frozen, drifted landscape and the weak looking sun.

I must be missing something, because where in the hell have we been hearing comparisons to 2013-14/2014-15 every year? Considering those winters were literally the all-time most severe winters on record in places (2013-14 Detroit, 2014-15 Boston) of course people will reminisce. But I can't ever recall comparisons. What I mostly recall is talk of the new tropical climate in NYC since 2016. Nothing will probably ever hold a candle to 2013-14 here in SE MI. But make no mistake, 2025-26 has been a very solid winter here and we have some brutal arctic air coming. Blowing and drifting snow on a frequent basis, constant wind chills, and solid snowcover since Thanksgiving outside of one week each in December and January. I really dont care whats going on in the west or elsewhere, it has zero impact on how I view my winter. If you had a mild snowless winter but the west was buried in snow, would that make your winter better?

Obviously nowhere near as deep snow as 2013-14. But with the bitter winds and drifting snow, absolutely has the feels of severe winter.

Detroit is at 25.5" to date (avg to date 19.2"), total seasonal avg around 43"...in 2013-14 it was a record 94.9". Again definitely not as severe but the constant arctic winds and drifting snow is definitely a reminder!

We had seen talk of 2013-14 similarities in here. Obviously while nowhere near as severe, today reminded me of 2014 with the constant bitter winds blowing and drifting snow throughout the day, and knowing the rest of January looks frigid.

Deep winter for sure. Today was like a smaller scale 2014 with the bitter winds and constant blowing and drifting snow. We've picked up several dustings the past few days but the drifting snow today was the most noticeable. DTW snowfall January 8.7", season to date 25.5". Here 8.8" January, 26.1" season to date.

Was it lake or synoptic?

Models will likely continue to struggle with the details too. Expect some good and bad busts in the near future.

2020-21 (48.8" to 44.9"). ORD has only beaten DTW 5 times the last 20 years.

DTW is 23.9" & ORD 21.5" to date. Long way to the finish line.

0.34"

The cobalt blue sky and frigid air following last nights storm makes for a gorgeous afternoon

Still melting it lol

In 154 years of record, the max temp in Boston during January tied this years 52° 8 times. 31 times it was colder. In 114 of the 154 Januaries on record, Boston saw a higher max than 52°. Lmao nothing like 1932.

Ironically. The biggest snowstorm on record in Toledo is 22.0" on March 1, 1900. And Detroit 24.5" April 6, 1886

I happily report the biggest bust in 15 years here. Yesterday's forecast was for a 50% chance of snow along the arctic front, with accumulation a dusting to less than an inch. We ended up with 6.2" of powder. The unforecast storm caused traffic gridlock, with 4-7" falling in the Detroit area. No models but the rgem even remotely sniffed it out as late as 12z yesterday when snow began at noon. To see such a unanimous model failure is startling in this day/age, so a word of caution with the many scenarios that undoubtedly lie ahead as the weather looks active and some more juice with the STJ

6.2" total here. 24.4" season. Lots of drifting overnight. A shocking model failure.

Id call the two busts comparable. Feb 5, 2011 had a forecast of partly sunny and ended up with 4-6". Yesterday had a forecast of dusting to less than an inch and had 4-7

I honestly think this is the biggest bust I've ever seen. The forecast the night before yesterday called for a 30% chance of snow showers. Then yesterday morning it was a 50% chance. No accumulation mentioned in the grids byt the forecast discussion mentioned a dusting to less than an inch. Sounds like a general 5-7" in the Detroit area. Still lightly snowing.

Major bust in SE MI today. We had a 50% chance of snow, finally updated to a winter weather advisory late afternoon. Will probably end up with 3-5" in the metro area. Models did terrible with this.

Couldnt ask for a more beautiful look (from warm-heavy CPC no less) in the dead of winter. Below avg temps and above avg precip in MI

I know youve mentioned you like March...but what do you mean for February re: the knockout punch? Traditionally the east IS warmer but not all out torch like some imply. I really like the look for here. A lot of Nina Februarys have a really nice snowy pattern (but also some mild days). Plus Feb has killed it the last few decades.

It varies by location, but generally the mid-January to early February is the coldest period of the year in this region (at Detroit, the coldest 2 weeks are January 18-31). So when you see ensemble maps with colder than avg temps during the coldest time of year - thats cold. Also, the colder than avg anomalies in already frigid places paired with the warmer than avg anomalies in already warm places mean a HUGE contrast in temps. This places our region in a great spot for potential. I mean, its just that, potential, but you definitely cant hate the look going forward.