michsnowfreak

LMAO @TheClimateChanger. Funny, I just picked apples last week. A September tradition. I guess youre still picking cherries. First of all, Id LOVE to see a link to this alleged post 10-15 years ago I was having none of. For starters, I have always said that summer temp increases are most notable locally, with very little increase in winter/other seasons. Of course, Im talking about the climate record as a whole, not using the coldest 30-year dataset in the period of record, 1961-90 (using the 30-year normals of 1961-90 and using regression lines beginning in 1970 is almost exclusively all you will ever see in posts like this). Even if your outrageous wish came true of summer, that wouldnt be climate migrating since the other seasons are not warming like that. I am also surprised you used a dataset starting in 2010 (14 years total) and compared it to a 30-year dataset (again, the coldest one). Actually, I lied. Im not surprised. We have had an unusual stretch of hot summers since 2010, and including cooler summers from the 2000s would definitely taint your cherry picking. Since you were doing all this research on heat blistering Detroit, I am surprised you didnt mention the unique record that is currently ongoing for Detroit. I was going to make a post, but I guess its perfect to post it here. The hottest temp at Detroit this summer was 90F. Not since 1915 has Detroit had a max temp that low on the year. Yup, you read that right. Its been 108 years since Detroit saw an annual max temp as low as they did in 2023. Since DTW came into existence in 1958, there has never been a period this long without the temp exceeding 90 (ie 91+). We are currently at 407 days and counting, and the previous record was 373 days. Using the entire period of record (1872), this is the longest we have gone without exceeding 90F since 1916 (most of the records were from the 1800s). If we make it to June 25, 2024 without a 91 it will be the 3rd longest period on record, only behind 1878 & 1886. Even if we hit it early, say June 1st, thats already 664 days and blows right past the DTW record by nearly 300 days. So in case youre counting, Detroit hit 90F a total of 2 times in 2023. In the entire St Louis climate record (where you see Detroit summers in 25 years), their top 3 lowest 90F+ days were 8, 15, & 17. In Oklahoma City, their top 3 lowest 90F+ days were 19, 30, & 34. Detroits 90F+ days for the past 5 years: 10, 17, 13, 15, 2.

The moon last night here

I get it. I've been up north when it's very hot and humid, it just doesn't last. Here in southern Michigan we are literally classified as a climate with hot summers and cold winters so basically a working furnace and ac is a must. But in northern michigan, while all the businesses have AC, many of the vrbo or air bnb don't. Booking one in summer is a huge gamble. A majority of days are comfortable but if you get it during a hot spell, good luck with a fan and windows lol.

Actually this year does not look too bad. The extended looks up and down but nothing crazy.

Marquette is 666' while Negaunee is 1371'. Lake Superior is about 600'. It's a combination of elevation and upslope why they get so much more in Negaunee and Ishpeming, although it seems almost unreal when you witness the yearly difference. I was in the area in february 2022. Marquette had probably 20" and Negaunee 40" depth. Took this pic.

Not to take anything away from Marquette, but the NWS office is in Negaunee, just outside Marquette city but the elevation/upslope conditions make it a snow microclimate. The NWS office probably averages twice what the city of Marquette averages.

Indeed the seasons were VERY back and forth (per what info is available) pre-1850....and again in the 1870s-1880s (now with accurate data to back it up).

Do you by chance have a record for Detroit from 1836-1869? Official obs did not begin for Detroit until Nov 1870, and the NWS lists them as starting in 1874 (not sure whats wrong with 1870-73). I wonder where the data was taken in those early days? I wonder if it was taken by a max/min thermometer or like they sometimes did wayyy back, take just 3 obs a day? As I have mentioned, a book I have details the weather from 1837-1887, and its a fascinating read, but I dont have the actual monthly records (or know where they were taken). They describe summer as having some days with a tropical atmosphere as hot as the equator but that they dont last before pleasant weather kicks in. Many winters are mentioned as "open" winters with little snow, some are noted as harsh winters. It would not surprise me if there were far more droughts/low snow years 200 years ago than there are now in what was a colder/drier climate. Takeaways from those numbers, albeit the small sample size of the early 1800s data and their unknown origin means it should be taken with a big grain of salt: ~winter, BY FAR, is the least warming season and summer is by far the most warming season. (I have been saying this for years and yet every now and then a bogus article will still pop up about winter warming faster than any season in the Great Lakes. This could not be further from the truth) ~May to Oct is the time of year that has warmed the most ~Jan, amazingly, is currently colder at both Detroit and Port Huron than it was in the 1830s-50s. This is the only month that has not warmed some.

Near normal would be great. I want open window weather. Every year we have late spring cold snaps followed by heat. Remember 2020?

I had a 5:1 ratio 6" snowstorm this winter that my snowblower couldn't handle so I had to shovel. 30" of 5:1? Bo might as well hunker in and let the May sun take care of it the next week lol.

This may snowstorm was historic even for the UP, and its a great lesson in geography because the storm was HUGELY dependent on elevation and proximity to the lakeshore. Just looking at pics and comments on nws mqt Facebook page, the variability is wild. Naturally, you're the winner.

I love reading about those old pre-record days. I have a book by bella hubbard called "memorials of a half century" which details his time in the detroit area from 1837 to present-day 1887. It's fascinating and he goes into detail on weather/seasons. Maybe in the summer if I have time I will do a post detailing some of that. May 2020 had snow fall on 5 days (consecutively no less) which had never happened before (May 8-12, with 0.5" on the 10th). May 2016 had exceptionally late snow (15-16th). The latest official flakes for Detroit were May 31, 1910 and the latest measurable was an incredible 5.0" on May 21/22, 1883.

Midday. There was snow, graupel, sleet, and rain here. I see it's snowing in howell now.

May 1st. This is the 3rd May since 2016 to see snow.

DTW hit 30, which missed the record by 3°. Freezing fog overnight. Most places in the 20s.

Good stats. Now I will say that the past 5 years have definitely had an abnormal amount of very late season snow. But I think April expectations are too high in the Great Lakes. A typical April is quite gray and features a roller coaster of temperatures ranging from summer to winter.

Im going to be doing some research on late snowflakes here. They have absolutely become way more frequent than I remember. lets see how accurate my memory is.

Lol we did get a widespread white Christmas this past year. Jokes aside though, late spring flakes are definitely common in recent years.

Incredible!

Awesome aurora pics guys. More flurries this morning

95-96 was probably the worst screwzone winter ever for Detroit to Chicago corridor. Cold and dry. Detroits record for snowcover and deep snow depth was, you guessed it, 2013-14.

Had a torrent of snow/snow pellets/hail earlier. 0.1", came down hard enough to briefly whiten the ground in dip n dots.

Though it's gloomy today, I got this picture of my mom's magnolia earlier in the week and thought it was a cool contrast from a picture I took march 10th.

One of the common assumptions about snowfall is that it in places where it is increasing due to more moisture it is melting faster. Just thought Id throw in my Detroit stats, thats really not the case. I only have snowcover data since 1913. Obviously while the snowy period last decade was crazy in many places - and NOT the norm - I dont think Boston has to worry anytime soon about losing snow/winter. I cant even speculate what the future of Great Lakes snowfall will do, but there have been no longterm negative trends. The 2010s were the snowiest decade on record. The 1930s-60s were a bad time for heavy snowfalls in this area. Avg seasonal snow per decade Snow 1”+ dpth 3”+ dpth 6”+ dpth 10”+ dpth 1880s 43.1” 1890s 43.2” 1900s 46.3” 1910s 39.6” 1920s 46.1” 51 days 23 days 8 days 1 day 1930s 32.9” 42 days 16 days 4 days 1 day 1940s 27.8” 49 days 22 days 3 days 0 days 1950s 37.8” 47 days 19 days 5 days 1 day 1960s 31.8” 57 days 24 days 5 days 1 day 1970s 45.6” 57 days 35 days 13 days 2 days 1980s 45.2” 47 days 29 days 12 days 2 days 1990s 37.9” 37 days 20 days 8 days 2 days 2000s 45.3” 51 days 31 days 12 days 2 days 2010s 49.9” 53 days 38 days 18 days 10 days 2020s* 43.7” 46 days 24 days 4 days 2 days *only thru 2022

Warm front stalled. High 66 here