While January 2020 has been very mild so far this year this in not the first time that Grand Rapids has seen a mild January. Back in the early 1930’s Grand Rapids had 3 very mild January’s in a row. January 1932, 1933 and 1934 all were much warmer than average. And currently January 1932 still stands as the warmest January in recorded history here at Grand Rapids with a mean of 34.2° Here is a break down of the back to back to back warm January’s from 1932 to 1934.
The winter of 1931/32
December 1931 was very similar to this past December. The mean at Grand Rapids was 35.8° The high for the month was 55 on the 11th and the low for the month was 17 on the 5th and again on the 8th Only one day stayed below 32 all month. The total snowfall was 7.1”.
January 1932 was a very mild month with a mean of 34.2 that is good for a departure of +9.8° The high for the month was 58 on the 13th and the low of +5 was on the 31st Only 6 days stayed at 32 or below all month and there was just 3.2” of snow fall that January.
February 1932 was also very mild with a mean of 31.8 that was a departure of +5.0. The high for the month was 64 on the 11th and the low was 13 on the 23rd there was just 5.2” of snow fall for a meteorological winter total of 15.6”
March 1932 Winter did make a visit in March as it was the coldest month of that winter with a mean of 28.4 and that is -7.2 below average. The high for the month did make it to 59 on the 30th and the low for the month was +7 on the 8th and again on the 14th a total of 25.3” of snow fell that march. The total snow fall that winter season was 41.2″
1932/33
November 1932 was a colder than average month with a mean temperature of 36.6° (-3.6) and there was 4.9” of snow fall that November. December was near average with a mean of 29.4° (+0.2) but there was only 6.8” of snow fall. Then came January. After the record warmest January the year before January 1933 would become the 2nd warmest on record here in Grand Rapids with a mean of 34.0° (+6.6) There were only 5 days all month that were 32 or colder with the coldest high for the month being a mild 29. There were 6 days in the 50’s and the highest for the month was 56 the coldest was 12. And get this the snow fall that January 1933 was just 0.8” that is the least reported snow fall at Grand Rapids for the month of January, the most on the ground that month was just a trace. Mookies grandparents must have been going wild. Winter did make a appearance in February between the the 2nd and 15th during that time 16.3” of snow fell and it got down to -11 on the 9th for the low for that winter. February was also the snowiest month that winter with 21.1”. March and April were colder than average so while some may think the winter of 1932/33 was short it was in fact a long one just not all that cold in January. The total snow fall that winter was 43.6”
1933/34
Over all the winter of 1933/34 was a cold one with a good amount of snow except for January 1934. Winter started in mid-November and the month ended up with a mean of 35.0° (-5.1) and there was 11.2” of snow. While December had a warm period mid month the month ended up with a mean of 28.0° and 14.0” of snow. Then came January 1934. The month had a mean of 31.0 (+6.6) and for the 2nd year in a row there was very little snow fall that January as only 1.4” on snow fell with 0.6” of that falling on the 31st And it did turn cold at the end of the month. There was a big change in February as the month had some extreme cold with 2 days of highs of just +3 and lows well below zero with -16 being the coldest. But that month only saw 8.7” of snow fall. March was also very cold with a mean of 29.0 (-6.6) but once again only 1.7” of snow fall. April was also cold but not much snow fall. For the season the winter of 1933/34 only had 38.1” of snow fall. Other warm (for Grand Rapids) January’s are 2006 32.2. 1990 32.0. 1921 30.4. 2002 30.2. At this time 2020 is at 30.6° and if that holds this would be the 7 warmest January in recorded history at Grand Rapids. And according to Bill Stiffens at this time this is the This is the 4th wettest start to winter (since Dec. 1) and 5th warmest start to winter for Grand Rapids.
Slim
Another above average day ! With more to come ! Days keep getting longer !! Yup, soon Spring !! I love it !!
I won’t talk bad about Mother Nature!!! I take what we get… i do handle it one day at a time like recovering alcoholic… everyday we are that much closer to spring, but I know what she can give us… I’ll wait and see!! 😎😎😎
Didn’t Rocky promise us countless times that we’d see some good snow this week? Well the week is just about over and we are sitting at a whopping 0.1” of total weekly snowfall.
Rocky (Rockford)
Get ready for more snow later this week into the weekend and beyond! I love this time of year!
January 21, 2020 8:33 am
No snow, but we had a half inch of rain yesterday so there’s that.
We are in a very boring stable weather pattern. Since Wednesday the temperature has ranged from just 28 to 36. It has not been below 32 since 7 AM on Thursday. So a lot of mid 30’s with a lot of clouds and light rain with some light snow. Not much to say for late January. And with the current mean for the month at 30.8 and no cold in the next week or more it looks like Grand Rapids will end this January in the top 10 with a 6 or 7 warmest a good bet. The current mean… Read more »
CPC is turning blue El nino is going away the pna and the nao is going negative the polar vortex is migrating South and the sub tropical southern jet is becoming cut off folks we got some serious Winter weather coming for February and March possible April like i said yesterday dont put away your snow shovel just yet Winter storm warnings coming …Have a super Saturday INDY
Weather patterns generally last around 45 days or so and we should be coming to an end to this pattern. Not sure if it will be colder and snowy or colder and dryer. Or it could be warmer and dryer but the pattern should change.
Slim
We will prolly have lake effect snow in April this year. What a crazy season so far.
Yes Wild Bill dont remove your plows just yet hard for some to understand it on here but we got lots of Winter left and it starting to show the MODLES that is …INDY
No big changes for at least another two weeks. Where is winter?
We live in Michigan. A state that has (had?) a reputation for its formidable winters, and yet there are those of us that, despite the chronic overcast slop that has become, dare I say, the norm these days, are excited to see a continuation of it?
Interesting…
Easy driving, no shoveling, cheap gas bills, and no arctic air. What’s not to love?
Despite all the wishcasting, the snow is melting, the mild temps will continue for weeks, and no arctic air or snow in sight. I love it!
Nubs Nob here I come baby! Fresh snow and temps in the low 30’s! Perfect skiing conditions up there! Who knew! What a winter there are having! Keep it coming!
Current conditions!
https://www.nubsnob.com/conditions-new/
39 degrees in Petoskey with snow showers turning to rain. Horrible conditions!
You are clueless! The temp at the mountain is always about 6 to 10 degrees colder and they received fresh snow in the last 24 hours and more to come! Get off your duff and drive up to snow country! It is near perfect! I will be skiing within the couple hours! Just the facts!
LOL 6-10 degrees cooler? What does it have… 4,000 or 5,000 feet elevation or something? haha That’s a funny one.
Thank you for confirming the clueless statement! Keep it up!
Well let’s hope this is the start of another back to back to back mild Winter stretch! Very mild 36 out this morning. Been an incredible pattern we’ve been in now for 2 months, let’s keep it going!