Another warm, beautiful fall day is expected today. High temperatures will be near 70 degrees. Much of Wednesday will be nice with highs near 70 once again, but showers will move into the area during the evening, especially overnight into Thursday. Cooler weather is expected the second half of the week, with occasional chances for a few showers.
Yesterday we had a high temp of 67.5° with 100% sunshine. The low was 37.9° with clear skies. We had a nearly full moon lighting the landscape last night, the low thus far is 42°.
I pulled my snowblower out to the middle of the shed where it is available for use (which it hasn’t had much of a workout in the past few years). I am still mowing the grass which is still growing at a rapid rate. Below are the average snow dates for the area.
Forecast Discussion:
-- Warmer than normal Temperatures through Wednesday -- A large upper level ridge will continue to build over the region today and dominate the weather pattern through Wednesday. Accompanying this pattern will be warmer than normal temperatures highs today and tomorrow that will be upwards of 10 to 15 degrees above normal. The ridge will flatten as a large upper level low enters the midwest moving across Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon. -- Showers, maybe some thunder late Wednesday through Thursday -- Winds will shift from light and variable to breezy from the southwest Wednesday afternoon. Moister flow, along with warm air advection Will allow for showers to be possible Wednesday afternoon and evening. Given the warm air for this time of year, along with that will be a decent low level jet which could allow enough shear for thunderstorms Wednesday evening into Thursday. A line of showers and storms will move through into Thursday. Latest models have a short wave trough moving through Thursday afternoon which could bring another round of showers and storms. This cold front will usher in colder, breezier and overall more fall like weather. -- Cooler weather starts Friday -- A long wave trough from Canada will dominate the pattern into the weekend with several short waves propagating through the Great Lakes bringing a chance of precipitation Friday and Saturday. Highs will be in the 50s Friday and through the weekend. This is just below normal. There is a potential warm up into next week.
It has been a record setting warm October so far and much of the area is still on course for one of the warmest Octobers on record. Here is where we stand as of this morning. Grand Rapids the mean so far is 63.3 and that is a departure of +9.3. At Holland the mean is 65.0 for a departure of +10.9. At Muskegon the mean is 64.3 for a departure of +10.0. At Lansing the mean is 64.1 for a departure of +10.6. To the east at Flint the mean is 64.1 for a departure of +11.9 at Saginaw… Read more »
That is nothing short of remarkable. I love this weather. Darned right chilly in the morning (steam rising off the pond down the steet) and then shorts weather in the afternoon.
It is sunny and 71 here at my house right now. That last official reading for GRR was 70. It was just last year that the record high of 80 was set for Grand Rapids.
Slim
Wasn’t last Winter when we had the latest first inch of snow in recorded history? Let’s break that record again this Winter!
Yes it was. The average date for a one inch snow fall at GRR is November 19. The earliest is October 12, 2006 and the latest is listed as December 24th 2020. Last year GR did report a trace of snow fall on October 30th and 0.02″ on November 1st and again on November 24th before that big snowstorm of 1.2″ on December 24th but that was just in time to give GR a white Christmas.
Slim
Funny, with the feeble Winters we’ve had lately, yes 1.2” of snow is now considered a “big” snowstorm by many.
This is interesting. Color comparison:
https://www.mlive.com/weather/2021/10/photos-show-this-years-sharp-fall-color-difference-compared-to-last-year.html
Wow, that is a shocking difference! It has definitely been a long and extended Summer this year.
Here are a cupule of winter folklore one hinting for a mild winter and one hinting at a cold winter.
” Keep an eye on the weather on October 9. If it’s sunny, the following winter will be very cold. If it’s cloudy, winter will be milder.” October 9th this year was mostly cloudy that hints a warm winter.
Hint two.
“If the peak fall color is early, the winter will be mild. The later the peak, the colder the winter.”
It looks like a wash so we still don’t know how the winter will play out.
Slim
I have mentioned this in years past. My sis in law got married 10/05/2001 near Richland, and it snowed during the ceremony. We groomsmen put our jackets over the bridesmaids’ shoulders. It was chilly! The color was in full bloom. The photos were spectacular with flakes falling from the sky and all the autumn colors in the background.