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Cooler Today – Weather History

The skies have cleared overnight and temps have tumbled into the 30s.  We had a temp of 69.8° for a high yesterday and .13 of an inch of rain.  Unless we get measurable precip today we will end up below normal in the rain department with 1.91 inches recorded for the Otsego area and just a trace of snow.


Weather History – SE Michigan

March 28

On March 28, 1928, an early season tornado outbreak hit Southern Lower Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. 14 tornadoes were recorded in Michigan from Mason and Oceana Counties in West Central Lower Michigan to Genesee and Oakland Counties in Southeast Lower. Three of the Michigan tornadoes were estimated to be as strong as F4 including one that hit Genesee and Oakland Counties. That tornado started near Fenton and moved 10 miles northeast across far northwest Oakland County. Four deaths were recorded from this particular tornado including one person in an overturned car, probably just the second tornado-related death in a car at that point in U.S. history. Specifically for Southeast Lower Michigan, tornadoes hit Saginaw, Genesee, Oakland and Shiawassee Counties. In total across the state, there were 13 deaths and 59 injuries.

Also on March 28, 1945, the temperature soared to 82 degrees in Detroit.

March 29

On March 29, 1967, the daytime temperature rose to only 23 degrees in Detroit, which is 29 degrees cooler than the average high temperature for this day.

March 30

On March 30, 1922, 1.76 inches of precipitation fell in Detroit. This is the maximum daily precipitation record for the month of March in Detroit.

On March 30, 2012, 0.1″ of snow fell in Flint giving the city a grand total of 0.9″ for the month and making it the 4th lowest March snowfall total on record. No snow fell in Detroit that day, where the March total of 0.2″ was the 5th lowest on record.

March 31

On March 31, 2014 an extremely narrow band of accumulating snow developed just south and southeast of Saginaw Bay. The town of Caro measured 8 inches.

Also on March 31, 2014, Flint finished the month with an average temperature of 26.0 degrees, making it the 2nd coldest March on record for the area. This is in spite of a balmy high of 61 degrees on the last day of the month. Detroit and Saginaw also finished the month with their 11th and 5th coldest Marches respectively.

Also on March 31, 2006, severe weather broke out across much of Southeast Michigan. There were over 30 severe hail and severe wind/damage reports. Some of the one-inch diameter hail in southern Genesee County piled up to several inches.

April 1

On April 1, 1923, the overnight temperature dropped to a freezing 8 degrees in Saginaw, which is the daily record low as well as the monthly record low temperature. This day also marked the fifth day in a row (March 28-April 1) of record low temperatures in Saginaw!

April 2

On April 2, 1975 a snowstorm hit Southeast Michigan and continued into the 3rd. By the time it was over, Flint had its second biggest snowstorm when 17.3 inches fell. Saginaw received 14.4 inches, making that storm the 9th biggest in Saginaw history. Even Detroit received 3.6 inches of snow from the storm.

On April 2, 1977, an F2 tornado hit Livingston County at 3:58PM.

Also on April 2, 2010, record high temperatures were recorded across southeast Michigan including 80 at Detroit, 79 at Flint and 81 at Saginaw. This was just the start to a very warm April which was the 2nd warmest for Detroit, 5th warmest for Flint, and 3rd warmest in Saginaw.

April 3

On April 3, 1974, an F2 at 7:30PM and an F3 at 8:56PM moved through Monroe County. These tornadoes were part of the Super Outbreak that caused over 300 deaths, 5500 injuries, and $600 million in damage in 13 states and Ontario, Canada. The Super Outbreak was the worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history.


Weather History – SW Michigan

March 28

1904: Heavy rain and temperatures in the 50s during the last week of March combined with the melting of a deep snowpack to cause some of the worst flooding on record along the Grand and Kalamazoo Rivers. About half the city of Grand Rapids is underwater as the river reaches an all-time record crest of 19.6 feet, which was 2 feet higher than the previous record and 4.6 feet above flood stage. Water covered half of the city and floodwaters reached 2,500 houses and 14,000 people. Many people suffered from hunger and exposure. Several factories and between 200 and 300 businesses were flooded. Loses totaled $1,800,000. Lansing has the worst flood in 135 years of record. Battle Creek is also inundated by floodwaters.

1920: One of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history strikes from Wisconsin to Georgia, killing more than 150 people. In Michigan, at least a dozen people were killed and hundreds of homes were either damaged or destroyed. The worst-hit areas in Michigan included Saint Johns in Clinton County, Maple Grove and Orangeville in Barry County, and Fenton in Genesee County.

March 29

1910: Temperatures peak in the upper 70s to lower 80s during one of the warmest months of March on record across Lower Michigan. The high of 82 degrees sets a record for the warmest ever recorded in March at Grand Rapids.

1954: A snowstorm drops from 5 to 10 inches of snow across southern Lower Michigan. Kalamazoo records 8 inches of snow and Grand Rapids a record 7.5 inches.

March 30

1977: A tornado struck four miles north of Hart in Oceana County, injuring three people as it destroyed four trailers and damaged a business.

March 31

1923: March goes out like a cold lion with record lows in the single numbers and lake effect snow showers.

2006: A tornado hits a few miles east of Jackson, taking down hundreds of trees and causing minor structural damage in the town of Leoni.

April 1

1923: Winter persists into April as temperatures fall to a record cold 8 degrees at Lansing and 9 degrees at Muskegon.

1970: An April Fool’s Day snowstorm drops 10 inches of snow on Lansing. Another 7 inches of snow falls the next day.

April 2

1977: A tornado outbreak in southern Lower Michigan kills one person and injures about 50 others. One thunderstorm spawned two violent tornadoes in Kalamazoo and Eaton Counties. Several homes and businesses were destroyed on the southwest edge of Augusta by the first tornado. The second tornado destroyed 21 homes and 28 outbuildings as it moved from near Bellevue to Eaton Rapids. Other tornadoes hit near north of Bath in Clinton County and southeast of Dansville in Ingham County.

April 3

1956: Eighteen people are killed and over 300 injured as four powerful tornadoes strike western Lower Michigan. Hudsonville and the northwest suburbs of Grand Rapids are the hardest hit areas with 17 fatalities as homes and businesses were completely swept away by an F5 tornado.

1974: The worst tornado outbreak in United States history strikes from Illinois to Alabama, with 148 tornadoes killing over 300 people. In Michigan, a tornado kills two people as it tracks across Hillsdale and Jackson Counties.


Forecast Discussion

- Upper trough overhead today through Thursday

A cold upper trough will be overhead today through Thursday with
850mb temperatures dipping to around -14C tonight. High
temperatures today will be in the 30s across portions of Central
Lower Michigan to the 40s elsewhere. Normal highs for this date
are around 50.

With some springtime sunshine into a cold air mass we will likely
see cumulus/stratocumulus fill in today. Not out of the realm of
possibilities to see some instability rain/snow showers develop
today, but overall we are quite dry so not expecting a lot. Hi-res
models do show some activity across Central Lower Michigan this
afternoon moving into the I-96 corridor towards evening. If enough
instability develops could see a bit of graupel as well in the
mid to late afternoon.

Tonight the flow goes northerly and we move into a lake effect
snow scenario. The flow should confine snow shower activity to the
lakeshore counties, with Big and Little Sable Points and down
towards South Haven the favored areas. Thinking we are looking at
a dusting to a half inch in a few spots, but nothing much more
than that. HRRR data in conjunction with the COBB snow tool was
indicating several inches of snow at South Haven by Thursday
morning, but that seems way overdone given limited moisture.
Moisture depth looks to be on the order of 4,000 to 5,000ft. The
lake effect should wind down/move off shore quickly Thursday
morning between 800am and 1100am.

- Dry weekend with a warming trend

The weekend looks to be dry, and for that matter we look dry from
Thursday midday through Sunday night. Plains ridging aloft
gradually moves into the Great Lakes which should insure that we
stay dry. ECMWF ensemble members also bear this out, with most
members showing a dry forecast at Grand Rapids from Thursday into
Monday morning. 850mb temperatures will be moderating and so will
our surface temperatures. Highs will surge back into the 60s for
the weekend and we may push towards 70 on Monday.

- Chances for precipitation early next week

Precipitation chances start to increase early next week Monday
into Tuesday. A warm front will be in the area to start the week,
with the ECMWF indicating a cold front moving in for Tuesday
night. At this point we only have fairly small pops in the
forecast on the order of 20/30 percent.

 

 

newest oldest
Mr. Negative
Mr. Negative

March…just another Winter month…glad to see it leave.

Sandy (Hudsonville)
Sandy (Hudsonville)

It has felt like Spring most of the month. I have Spring flowers blooming.

Andy W
Andy W

Wife and I are fully vaccinated now! Burning the mask and living my normal life!!

Beautiful weekend for golf coming up! Five weekends in a row now!! OUTSTANDING!!!

Rocky (Rockford)
Rocky (Rockford)

Glad to see it and glad you are not one of the crazy non vaccine nuts! This is one of the safest and most effective vaccines ever produced! We need as many people as possible getting the vaccine! Those that do not get it could be prolonging the global pandemic! Not only stupids but extremely selfish!

Andy W
Andy W

Glad to do my part! These coronavirus vaccines have been in development for over a decade. They are very safe and very effective. Just glad to get some normalcy back!

Rocky (Rockford)
Rocky (Rockford)

Outstanding!

Sandy (Hudsonville)
Sandy (Hudsonville)

We got both doses here. Not ready to give up the mast totally yet. More people need to get the vaccine. All our kids have got it and some grandkids. I look at it as we are doing everything we can do. I really don’t like it when I hear someone isn’t getting the vaccine for what ever reason, I know they are entitled to their thought on it but it involves others too. Let’s be safe get the shot.

Rocky (Rockford)
Rocky (Rockford)

I love it!

Rocky (Rockford)
Rocky (Rockford)

The SNOW maps are even heading in the right direction! Bring it on!

https://www.pivotalweather.com/model.php?m=gfs&p=sn10_acc&rh=2021033112&fh=384&r=conus&dpdt=&mc=

Rocky (Rockford)
Rocky (Rockford)

Here are the facts about the cold! The average high temp this time of year is above 50 degrees and the low is around or above freezing! Low temps the next couple nights will be near 20 degrees and the high tomorrow will have a hard time getting out of the 30’s, so yes INCREDIBLE cold!

Andy W
Andy W

Who cares 60’s this weekend and 70’s next week. Move to Alaska, plenty of year round cold there.

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Nathan (forest Hills)
Nathan (forest Hills)

Interesting how November 1, March 1, and now April 1 all started out cold/snowy, and then the remainder of the month was relatively warm and sunny.

Nathan (forest Hills)
Nathan (forest Hills)

Assuming my prediction for April is correct 😀

Rocky (Rockford)
Rocky (Rockford)

The words of the day = COLD and below normal temps! Incredible!

Barry in Zeeland
Barry in Zeeland

Now 40 degrees is cold? You must be an imposter. 40’s and 50’s are perfect.

Slim

After a cold front with thru and dropped 0.04″ of rain here the overnight low here was 32 and there was a thin crust of ice in the bird bath. The official low at GRR looks to have been 34. With a mean of 41.4 with one more day to go Grand Rapids is now at the 8th warmest March in recorded history. This month should end up in the top ten warmest but will have to wait until tomorrow to see just where. A top 5 looks good for Lansing and at Muskegon a top 10 will be a… Read more »

Mookie
Mookie

If you recall, last week WOOD was forecasting only 60 degrees for yesterday while NWS said we could hit 70 degrees. That seemed like a pretty wide difference to me at the time.

Well, it looks like NWS won the battle as GR hit 67 degrees.

Slim

I lived in Bay City in 1975 and that April 2nd snow storm is one of the past storms that I remember well. April 2nd was on a Wednesday in 1975. There was a strong cold NE wind that day and the high was in the lower 30’s The snow started just after sunset and by 10PM there was a full fledged blizzard going on. Just before 11 PM a heavy thundersnow event took place and that is when the power went out at out house. That was the most snow I have ever seen in the month of April… Read more »

Mookie
Mookie

We’ve had 7 days between 65-74 degrees in March. It’s been a truly wonderful month and nice extension of what my be a long hot summer upcoming.

Slim

We now have you marked down for a long hot summer. In the past it has been hit and miss for how the summer played out after a warmer than average March. But if is stays dry there will be a better chance of a warmer summer but that is still a ways off.
Slim

Mookie
Mookie

I’m not sure what my guess is for 2021 summer. But the current indications and models are leaning towards a hot one.