April 22, 2023 marks the 53rd anniversary of Earth Day. Earth Day was a collaboration between the government and citizens. Proposed in 1969 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day events were organized nationally by a handful of young activists and local volunteers.
Support for Earth Day exceeded expectations and helped grow the environmental movement. By the end of 1970, the Nixon administration had established the Environmental Protection Agency and passed the Clean Air Act.
Earth Day united various constituencies and agenda—from elementary school anti-litter campaigns and college campus “teach-ins” to mothers who sought cleaner air, protestors against pesticides, and proponents of population control—under the banner of “a future worth living.” Because the first Earth Day fell on a school day, whole classes of students planted flowers, swept public spaces, recycled, and protested pollution.
April 22nd is also my wife’s birthday. My wife and I were both born in Bay City. In Bay City on her Birthday in her lifetime the temperature has ranged from a low of 22 in 2020 and 2021 to a high of 87 in 1980. During the time we lived in Bay City the highest ranged from that high of 87 to a low of 25 in 1978. The temperature has ranged from 86 in 1980 to a low of 24 in 2020 and 1986. During the time we have lived here in Grand Rapids it has ranged from a high of 84 in 1985 to that low of 24 in 2020.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
347 AM EDT SAT APR 22 2023
LATEST UPDATE…
DISCUSSION/MARINE
DISCUSSION
(TODAY THROUGH NEXT FRIDAY)
ISSUED AT 347 AM EDT SAT APR 22 2023
— RAIN SHOWERS TODAY —
GOES WATER-VAPOR IMAGERY EARLY SAT MORNING SHOWS A BROAD MID/UPPER
LOW SITUATED OVER THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES AND ONTARIO. ACROSS THE OH
VALLEY, A BAROCLINIC LEAF STRUCTURE IS EVIDENT, ASSOCIATED WITH A
DEVELOPING ~1006-MB SURFACE LOW OVER WV. ONGOING LIGHT RAIN
SHOWERS OVER LOWER MI APPEAR TO BE OCCURING IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN
AXIS OF LOW-LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS ALONG AN ADVANCING FRONTAL ZONE,
PER RECENT RAP MESOANALYSIS. THE CORRESPONDING SURFACE FRONTAL
POSITION IS APPARENT IN RECENT SURFACE OBSERVATIONS, ROUGHLY FROM
HOUGHTON LAKE-IONIA-STURGIS AS OF 3 AM.
MODELS INDICATE THAT THE OH VALLEY SURFACE LOW WILL PROPAGATE
NORTHWARD TODAY, REACHING THE VICINITY OF TORONTO BY 18Z. THE
ACCOMPANYING STRATIFORM PRECIP SHIELD WILL LARGELY PASS EAST OF THE
AREA. HOWEVER, SHOWERS SHOULD BECOME MORE NUMEROUS FROM LATE MORNING
INTO AFTERNOON AS A PRONOUNCED MIDLEVEL TROUGH APPROACHES LOWER MI.
MIDLEVEL HEIGHT FALLS / COOLING ACCOMPANYING THIS TROUGH WILL
OCCUR IN TANDEM WITH MODEST BOUNDARY-LAYER WARMING, YIELDING
SBCAPE OF 100-300 J/KG. WITH EQUILIBRIUM-LEVEL TEMPS NEAR
-20C (AT ~11 KFT AGL), ISOLATED/SPORADIC LIGHTNING CANNOT BE RULED
OUT. SOME GRAUPEL IS ALSO POSSIBLE IN ANY MORE ROBUST SHOWERS, GIVEN
LOW WET-BULB 0C HEIGHTS (2-3 KFT).
OVERALL, CAMS SUGGEST THAT SHOWERS TODAY WILL BE MOST NUMEROUS EAST
OF US-131. SHOWER COVERAGE/INTENSITY WILL TEND TO WANE THIS EVENING
WITH THE LOSS OF SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY, BUT ISOLATED SHOWERS MAY
CONTINUE INTO THE NIGHT.
— SPRINKLES EXPECTED ON SUN, POSSIBLE AGAIN ON MON AND TUE —
AN OMEGA BLOCK REGIME WILL DEVELOP/AMPLIFY OVER EASTERN NORTH
AMERICA FROM THIS WEEKEND INTO MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. CONSEQUENTLY, THE
BROAD MID/UPPER LOW OVER THE GREAT LAKES AND ONTARIO WILL MAKE
ONLY SLOW EASTWARD PROGRESS THROUGH TUE, AS SUPPORTED BY EPS/GEFS
ENSEMBLE MEANS. WITHIN THIS LARGE-SCALE REGIME, COLD MIDLEVEL
TEMPS ATOP APPRECIABLE BOUNDARY-LAYER MOISTURE SHOULD FOSTER
SPRINKLES OR PERHAPS LIGHT SHOWERS ON SUN. SPRINKLES ARE ALSO
POSSIBLE ON MON-TUE, MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON/EVENING, WITH
ACTIVITY POSSIBLY MODULATED TO SOME EXTENT BY TRANSIENT SHORTWAVE
DISTURBANCES.
— LIKELY DRY ON WED AND THU —
ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO SUGGEST THAT THE REMNANT UPPER LOW
WILL CONTINUE EASTWARD LATER IN THE WEEK, ALLOWING MODEST MID/UPPER
HEIGHT RISES OVER THE GREAT LAKES. A SURFACE ANTICYCLONE OR RIDGE
WILL LIKELY ARRIVE ACROSS THE REGION ON WED, WITH ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE
FAVORING DRY WEATHER ON BOTH WED AND THU.
Detailed Forecast For Grand Rapids
Overnight
A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. West wind 3 to 5 mph.
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly between 8am and 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48. Light west northwest wind becoming west 6 to 11 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night
A 10 percent chance of showers before 8pm. Areas of frost between 1am and 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. West wind 5 to 8 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
Sunday
A chance of sprinkles. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. West wind 11 to 14 mph.
Sunday Night
Widespread frost, mainly after 3am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. West southwest wind 6 to 10 mph.
Monday
Widespread frost, mainly before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 50.
Monday Night
Widespread frost, mainly after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 32.
Detailed Forecast For Lansing
Overnight
A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 5am. Cloudy, with a steady temperature around 47. South southwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday
A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night
Areas of frost after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 33. West southwest wind 7 to 9 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Sunday
A chance of sprinkles. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. West wind 10 to 13 mph.
Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. West wind 7 to 11 mph.
Monday
Widespread frost between 7am and 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 50.
Monday Night
Widespread frost after 3am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 31.
Mrs Slim wishing you a wonderful birthday!!! 🙂
I work at the Whitecaps and after the game there was a snow/ice pellet/rain shower. It was very cold during the game and a lot of customers were wondering when it was going to warm up. I told them summer was last week.
Slim
The next 10+ days look quite cold for the end of April. A lot of highs in the 40s and 50s. But only a matter of time before this pattern breaks and we are back to the 70s again
Average highs increase so will the temps even if below average. I’m looking foreword to the 80s again.
Snowing at my location in Lowell, Kent County.
I’m glad I mowed last night. It was decent outside this morning. Sun came out around 10a. This afternoon became really windy and it rained pretty hard. Temp dropped too.
Wow, what a cold spell we are in with no change in sight! Get ready for multiple nights with frost and freezing temps! Incredible April cold! Forget golf and forget nice warm Spring weather and get used to very cold mornings and some days with wind chills in the 30’s! Wow, just wow, WOW!
Plenty of 60’s in sight!! Probably going hit 9 holes this morning before heading to the woods to do some shooting! Great early spring golf weather!!
https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/b523690bfd952b86fef3627c919dd9855281a8da16b83c10bdd381c64ae12cbc
Forget golf – just another lousy Spring golf day! Cloudy and wind chills upper 30’s! The cool pattern continues to rock!
It looks like Sunday will even worse! Wind chills in the mid 30’s! Incredible!
Happy birthday to Mrs. Slim!
And a Happy Earth Day to all. Tricky Dick’s legacy is overshadowed by Watergate and his subsequent resignation, but he did so much for environmental causes.
Have a great Saturday my friends, and make someone smile 😃
I’m smiling!
Mark beat me to it. Happy Birthday to Mrs. Slim. My sister’s and a friend of ours kiddos.bdaynis today as well!!
This cool trend will help to slow down the tulips in Holland. The way things were going, we were on our way to having a “stem” fest instead of Tulip Time!
If you like cool weather – you are in luck! No warm air is in sight as we are still stuck in a persistent cool pattern! Incredible cold!
The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 62/44 there was 0.01” of rain fall and 26% of possible sunshine. For today the average H/L is now up to 61/40 The record high of 86 was set in 1980 and the record low of was set in 1950, 1986 and 2020.
Slim