February Stats 3/2

Well, here we are on the second day of meteorological spring.  The first day started out cold and blustery.  Our high temperature yesterday was 33° which occurred at midnight and the low was 20°.

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February Stats

Our winter snow total in Otsego was 67 inches about twice as much as last year and it is still possible to add to that total.

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CPC March Outlook

Temperatures for March are predicted to be near normal with above-normal precipitation.

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CPC Spring Outlook

Spring is predicted to have near-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation. However, I would take the precipitation guesses with a grain of salt as they seem to overpredict lately.

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Weather History

2002: A strong low-pressure center moves across the Ohio Valley bringing record snows to Lower Michigan. Grand Rapids has 13. 9 inches and Muskegon 10.5 inches, both set records for their snowiest March day on record.

On March 2, 1962, the overnight temperature dropped to a freezing -12 degrees in Saginaw, which is the record minimum temperature for the month of March in Saginaw!

On this date, in 1976 a major snow and ice storm hit the Saginaw Valley and Thumb regions. The storm started on March 1 and continued through March 2. Snow fell first with anywhere from 2 to 10 inches. That was followed by about a half-inch to one-inch of glazing from the ice storm. The storm was accompanied with high winds. The storm struck a 29-county area in the central Lower Peninsula. This storm, one of the worst to ever hit the state, caused more than 56 million dollars in damage and widespread power outages for more than 400,000 electric customers. The storm impacts were so severe that a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration was granted for the 29 affected counties to assist in the recovery.

In 2006, parts of Tuscola County had reports of 12 inches of snow on March 2.

Also on March 2, 2010, Detroit had a high temperature of 39 degrees. While this high temperature is usually not noteworthy, it marked the only high temperature for Detroit in the month of March 2010 that did not get 40 degrees or higher, which is a record for Detroit in March. March 2010 was one of the nicest on record with Detroit having the eighth warmest, eleventh driest, and least snowiest March.

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Forecast Discussion

- Fair weather today and Monday

A ridge of high pressure will bring fair wx today through Monday.
It will be seasonably cold today with high temps only reaching
around the 30 degree mark. Southerly flow waa commences Monday and
will help to boost high temps into the upper 30s to lower 40s.

- Rain late Monday night through Wednesday

A few light warm air advection rain showers are expected late
Monday night well out ahead of the strong low pressure system over
the central Plains states. Strong southerly flow waa will advect
ample moisture into our area through midweek as precipitable water
values become anomalously high by Wednesday.

The strong system will move ene into our region and bring several
rounds of rain Tuesday through Wednesday afternoon with potential
for around an inch or more of rainfall. Isolated convection is
also possible Wednesday particularly over our southern fcst area.

- Windy with snow showers Wednesday night into early Thursday

Strong nw flow caa will occur Wednesday night on the back side of
this system with snow showers. Very windy conditions are expected
with potential for gusts to reach advisory criteria. Snow showers
should taper off early Thursday as deeper moisture exits our area
as the low pressure system moves further away from our region but
winds will remain brisk.