A period of clouds and possibly an isolated shower is forecast for today. It will still warm up this afternoon with high temperatures topping 60 degrees in some locations. Continued warming is expected Thursday with some sites possibly reaching 70 degrees. A cold front tracks through Friday. Unsettled and much colder weather is forecast for this coming weekend with some lake-effect snow showers.
Weather History for SW Michigan
November 6
1880: An early-season snowstorm strikes during one of the coldest November on record in Lower Michigan. At Lansing, a foot of snow is measured on this day.
1951: Snow and cold dominate the month of November across western Lower Michigan, especially the first week. The morning low of 12 degrees at Muskegon is the fifth consecutive daily record low temperature. Lake effect snow continues piling up at a record pace with more than two feet of snow falling at Grand Rapids in the first week of November.
1975: Record warm weather prevails across Michigan with Grand Rapids and Lansing both reaching 77 degrees.
November 7
1877: Record cold freezes in Lower Michigan following heavy snowfall on November 5th. At Lansing, the temperature plunges to 4 degrees on the 5th and 6th, and 8 degrees on this day.
November 8
1921: A record early-season snowstorm buries Lower Michigan with over a foot of heavy, wet snow in some places. Lansing measures 18.9 inches for its greatest November snowfall on record.
1991: A vast flow of arctic air dominates the Midwest during early November 1991. Several inches of snow fall from the 2nd through the 6th followed by the passage of a cold dome of high pressure that sets record lows of 11 degrees at Lansing and 16 degrees at Grand Rapids on this date.
November 9
1913: A massive storm that became known as The White Hurricane sank numerous ships on the Great Lakes and caused millions of dollars in damage across Michigan. This storm was one of the deadliest and most destructive natural disasters to hit the Great Lakes, killing more than 250 people while wrecking 19 ships and stranding 19 others. The financial loss in vessels alone was nearly five million dollars or about 100 million dollars at current value. Lost cargo, such as coal, iron ore, and grain was estimated at over 68,000 tons.
November 10
1975: A powerful storm brought high winds across Lower Michigan, toppling trees and power lines. A tornado was spun up by the storm, damaging mobile homes and a barn in Allegan County. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during the storm, with a crew of 29 men. There were no survivors. The ore carrier left Superior, Wisconsin on November 9 loaded with 26,116 tons of taconite pellets. The cargo was to be delivered to Detroit, but the ship ran into winds of at least 60 mph and high waves and foundered at about 730 pm north of Whitefish Point.
1998: A November storm lashes the Great Lakes with wind gusts up to 90 mph. Over 167,000 homes were without power and cleanup efforts were extensive as many homes and businesses suffered roof and siding damage and thousands of trees were blown down. The high winds literally blew much of the water out of Saginaw Bay, with the water level dropping several feet and large sections of the Bay becoming dry land for a time. A waterspout on Lake Michigan briefly moved inland near Muskegon, but rapidly dissipated and caused no damage.
November 11
1911: A tornado outbreak strikes the Midwest, killing more than a dozen people. Nine people are killed as a violent tornado hits Janesville, Wisconsin. Within an hour, survivors of the storm were digging out in near-blizzard conditions with zero-degree temperatures. In Michigan, a tornado kills two people and injures 21 others as it destroys five factories and 21 homes in the northern part of Owosso in Shiawassee County. Another tornado hits southeast of Battle Creek in Calhoun County, leveling barns and taking the roofs off homes. A tornado near Kingsland in Eaton County kills cattle and horses.
1940: The Armistice Day storm strikes with hurricane-force winds, producing blizzard conditions across Minnesota and mountainous waves on Lake Michigan, where five vessels are lost, claiming 66 lives.
1995: A strong cold front passage is followed by high winds and lake-effect snow. From three to seven inches of snow fell across Ottawa and Kent Counties in a six-hour period. The heavy snowfall combined with high winds caused widespread power outages due to tree limbs falling and lines breaking. In South Haven, a garage roof was destroyed by a falling tree. Power outages affected more than 50,000 people.
November 12
1873: Winter arrives early with 5 inches of snow at Lansing, followed by a string of record lows in the single digits, including a 1-degree reading on the morning of the 13th.
Weather History for SE Michigan
November 6
On November 6, 2005, Detroit reached 66 degrees while Saginaw and Flint both reached 69 degrees. This ended a stretch of unusual November warmth that included Flint reaching 80 degrees, its all-time November record, just two days prior. The average temperature of 62.2 between November 3rd and 6th made it the warmest 4-day stretch on record for November for Flint.
Also on November 6, 2005, a deep and rapidly intensifying November storm system moved North-Northeast through Southeast Lower Michigan during the morning. High winds along the associated cold front knocked down trees leading to widespread power outages. Winds were sustained out of the southwest at 30 to 40 mph with gusts as high as 60 mph from mid to late morning. The highest winds occurred between 1000 EST and 1400 EST. Many streets and roads had to be temporarily closed until trees blocking the way could be cleared. Utility companies reported approximately 200,000 customers lost power in Southeast Lower Michigan, with the majority of the outages occurring across Oakland and Wayne counties. Particularly hard hit were densely populated communities with mature trees like Detroit, Livonia, Westland, and Taylor. Property damage was estimated at 4.2 million dollars.
Also on this date in 1951, the overnight temperature dropped to 14 degrees in Saginaw, which is the record-low temperature for the day. This day also marked the fifth day in a row (November 2-6) of daily record low temperatures.
November 7
On November 7, 1991, another stretch of record lows occurred in Detroit from the 7th (20 degrees), the 8th (14 degrees) and the 9th (18 degrees). Saginaw also had a three-day streak from the 7th-9th with 16, 14, and 16 degrees respectively. Flint had a 4-day streak from the 7-10th with temperatures of 17, 12, 14, and 20 degrees respectively.
Also on November 7, 1951, a snowstorm that started on November 6 came to an end across Southeast Michigan. The storm left Saginaw with 12.7 inches of snow, Flint with 13.4 inches, and Detroit with 5.6 inches. This storm was the 5th heaviest snowstorm in Flint history and the 14th heaviest for Saginaw.
November 8
On November 8, 1931, the temperature rose to a record 72 degrees at Saginaw on the 8th, then on the 9th, the temperature rose to 74 which was the warmest so late in the year for Saginaw.
November 9
On November 9, 1913, the Great Lakes were struck by the “White Hurricane.” This November 1913 incredible storm (concentrated on Lake Huron for its death and destruction) was the greatest ever to strike the Great Lakes. No other Great Lakes storm even begins to compare in modern history with its death toll of at least 235 lives and up to forty shipwrecks.
Also, on this date in 1999, a much tamer record was achieved with Detroit having its warmest temperature so late in the season at 75 degrees.
November 10
On November 10, 2020, a streak of record warm conditions came to an end. Detroit and Saginaw saw daily high-temperature records broken four days in a row (Nov. 7 to Nov. 10) while Flint had three daily high-temperature records broken (Nov. 8 to Nov. 10). It was the second warmest first 10 days of November on record for Flint and Saginaw, while it was the fourth warmest for Detroit.
On November 10, 1998, a very intense storm system moved north across the western Great Lakes on the 10th. This storm occurred on the 23rd anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior and was actually very comparable to that storm. High winds occurred in two phases. Winds reached high wind criteria across southeast Michigan early in the afternoon of the 10th, associated with a cold front racing east across the state. A line of showers accompanied the front, locally enhancing wind speeds (see below). Wind speeds increased again in the evening. The highest winds during the entire event occurred within a couple of hours of midnight. Both periods of high winds caused significant damage across the area. In the afternoon, the walls of a church under construction were destroyed in Troy. A warehouse in Flint was deroofed, and a second warehouse roof was damaged. Damage was more widespread with the higher wind speeds that occurred at night. Trees, limbs, and power lines were downed across all of southeast Michigan. In Owosso, a roof under construction collapsed, and a church under construction in Ida (Monroe County) was also damaged. Near Mt. Clemens, a boat rack storing a number boats of collapsed. A 70 mph wind gust was measured at the National Weather Service office in White Lake. The extended period of strong winds caused an interesting phenomenon on Saginaw Bay. Southwest gales pushed water out of the bay and into the main body of Lake Huron. The water level on Saginaw Bay bottomed out at an amazing 50 inches below the chart datum! Most of Saginaw Bay is quite shallow, and the removal of over 5 feet of water exposed a huge portion of the bay bed; some estimate that up to half of the area of the bay briefly became dry land during the storm!
On November 10, 1975, an infamous intense fall storm centered over the Great Lakes sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. 29 crewmen lost their lives because of this storm.
November 11
On November 11, 2019, a winter storm brought widespread heavy snow to Southeast Michigan. The daily snowfall records were broken at Detroit (8.5 inches) and Flint (8.6 inches). The snow continued into the 12th and the event ended up being the biggest November snowstorm on record at Detroit (9.2 inches over the two days) and the third biggest November snowstorm for Flint (9.0 inches over the two days). Snowfall rates of over 1 inch per hour were observed and areas along the lakeshore in the Thumb measured over a foot of snow.
On November 11, 1933, a snowstorm blanketed all of Southeast Michigan with 3 to 5 inches of snow. Saginaw reported 5.1 inches, Flint had 3.0 inches, and Detroit received 3.9 inches of snow.
November 12
On November 12, 2003, a cold front ahead of a rapidly deepening low-pressure system tracked across the area late in the evening on the 12th. Temperatures soared into the lower 60s during the afternoon hours. A line of showers and thunderstorms ahead of the cold front produced widespread 60 mph winds or greater, along with one tornado, rated F1, just west of Akron in Tuscola County.
This same strong low-pressure system then moved across the straits on the evening of the 12th, moving into Ontario overnight as it deepened. The storm produced wind gusts between 50 and 60 MPH across all of Southeast Michigan. In addition, there were even a few wind gusts reported between 60 and 88 mph. The highest wind gust was reported by a spotter in Dexter who recorded an 88 mph gust. An estimated 250,000 customers lost power in southeast Michigan, as widespread trees and power lines were blown down at a cost of about 21 million dollars in damage.
Also on November 12, 1911, a 24-hour temperature range of 49 degrees was recorded. The temperature at midnight was 65 degrees, at 6 am was 30 degrees, at noon was 20 degrees, and fell to a low of 16 degrees at 11 pm.
It is a great day! I love it! MI rocks!
From above, but it bears repeating:
11/10/98
“The extended period of strong winds caused an interesting phenomenon on Saginaw Bay. Southwest gales pushed water out of the bay and into the main body of Lake Huron. The water level on Saginaw Bay bottomed out at an amazing 50 inches below the chart datum! Most of Saginaw Bay is quite shallow, and the removal of over 5 feet of water exposed a huge portion of the bay bed; some estimate that up to half of the area of the bay briefly became dry land during the storm!”
That is just amazing.
On the flip side of that in 1972/73 strong NE winds blew the water in and flooded much of the river front in Bay City twice. One in November 1972 and again in March 1973 the 2nd time was with a snowstorm that dropped 20″ of snow. I did not live in Bay City in 1998 but there were several times when a storm SW wind blew out a good amount of water but I think the 1998 storm was the most that it blew out.
Slim
Yesterday I cut the grass and mulched the leaves one last time for 2022. I cleaned out the lawn mower and will park it for the winter today. I also brought out the snow blower and started it up. It was a nice day to do the yard work with an official H/L of 52/34 there was no rain fall and 66% of possible sunshine. The overnight low here in MBY with clear skies was 36 and the current reading with clear skies is 39. For today the average H/L is 50/35 the record high of 77 was set in… Read more »