First off, I would like to wish all mothers a Happy Mother’s day. Celebrations of mother’s and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.” Here is the US Anna Jarvis is most often credited with founding Mother’s day. Designated as the second Sunday in May by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914, aspects of that holiday have since spread overseas, sometimes mingling with local traditions.
Now a little history of the upcoming week. While this year it has been cool now for almost a week but we are just going into what has always been know as The Three Chilly Saints. Perhaps you’ve heard the old proverb that warns not to plant until after the “Three Ice Men” have passed, but do you know who these mysterious Ice Men are? The tradition comes from Northern Europe, and is tied to the successive feasts of St. Mamertus, St. Pancras, and St. Servatius, whose respective days occur on May 11, 12, and 13. They are also sometimes referred to as the “Three Chilly Saints.” In Europe’s not-too-distant past, parts of the continent remained rather cold through the middle of May, making planting before then risky. German and Swiss lore refers to mid-May as “Iceman Days,” while an old French saying states “St. Mammertius, St. Pancratius and St. Gervatius (the Francophone spelling of the three saints’ names) do not pass without a frost.” Because the agrarian people of medieval Europe weren’t likely to be literate, let alone aware of calendar dates, they measured time by observing nature and by the church calendar. So even here in West Michigan it is best not to plant until after mid May and this year that is very good advice.
. Here are some weather history events that have happened between May 8th and 13th Note this is a different history of events then the weekly one that MV posts.
May 9
1966 – Record snows fell in the northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, including 3.1 inches at Pittsburgh PA and 5.4 inches at Youngstown OH. Snow also extended across parts of New York State, with eight inches reported in the southern Adirondacks. (The Weather Channel)
1977 – A late season snowstorm hit parts of Pennsylvania, New York State, and southern and central New England. Heavier snowfall totals included 27 inches at Slide Mountain NY and 20 inches at Norwalk CT. At Boston it was the first May snow in 107 years of records. The heavy wet snow caused extensive damage to trees and power lines. The homes of half a million persons were without power following the storm. (9th-10th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
May 10
1905 – A deadly tornado hit the town of Snyder, OK, killing 87 persons. The tornado leveled 100 homes in Snyder, and destroyed many others. The large and violent tornado killed a total of 97 persons along its 40 miles path across southwestern Oklahoma. Its roar could reportedly be heard up to twelve miles away. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
1966 – Morning lows of 21 degrees at Bloomington-Normal and Aurora, IL, established a state record for the month of May. (The Weather Channel)
1990 – A spring storm produced heavy snow in Upper Michigan and eastern Wiscosin. Totals ranged up to 12 inches at Marquette MI, with eight inches reported at Muskego WI and Hartford WI. The heavy wet snow, and winds gusting to 35 mph, damaged or destroyed thousands of trees, and downed numerous power lines. Total damage from the storm was more than four million dollars. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary
May 11th
1966 – The 1.6 inch snow at Chicago, IL, was their latest measurable snow of record. Previously the record was 3.7 inches on the 1st and 2nd of May set in 1940. (The Weather Channel
1990 – Unseasonably cold weather followed in the wake of a spring storm in the north central U.S. Seven cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Madison WI with a reading of 29 degrees. Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Kansas, Oklahoma and the northern half of Texas. Severe thunderstorms spawned four tornadoes in Texas, and produced high winds which overturned four mobile homes northwest of Abilene TX injuring ten persons. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
May 12
1982 – A late season snowstorm struck the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. The storm produced 46 inches of snow at Coal Creek Canyon, located near Boulder. (David Ludlum)
1987 – A heat wave persisted in central California. Afternoon highs of 100 degrees at Fresno CA and 102 degrees at Sacramento CA were records for the date. (The National Weather Summary)
1988 – Unseasonably warm weather prevailed in the western U.S. Eight cities reported record high temperatures for the date, including Pendleton OR with a high of 92 degrees and Phoenix AZ with a reading of 106 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
1989 – Showers and thunderstorms associated with a low pressure system stalled over New York State drenched Portland ME with 4.50 inches of rain in 24 hours. Rains of 5 to 7 inches soaked the state of Maine over a four day period causing 1.3 million dollars damage. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
May 13
1987 – A cold front brought an end to the early season warm spell in the north central U.S., but not before the temperature at Sioux City IA soared to a record warm 95 degrees. Strong southwesterly winds ahead of the cold front gusted to 52 mph at Marais MI. Evening thunderstorms produced golf ball size hail at Rockford MN, and wind gusts to 75 mph at Belmond IA. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
1988 – Strong winds along a cold front ushering cold air into the northwestern U.S. gusted to 69 mph at Myton UT. Temperatures warmed into the 80s ahead of the cold front, as far north as Montana. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1989 – Thunderstorms developing along a warm front produced severe weather in the Southern Plains Region during the afternoon and night. A thunderstorm at Killeen TX produced wind gusts to 95 mph damaging 200 helicopters at Fort Hood causing nearly 500 million dollars damage. Another thunderstorm produced softball size hail at Hodges TX. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1990 – Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front spawned ten tornadoes from eastern Wyoming to northern Kansas, including seven in western Nebraska. Thunderstorms forming ahead of a cold front in the eastern U.S. spawned five tornadoes from northeastern North Carolina to southern Pennsylvania. Thunderstorms over southeast Louisiana deluged the New Orleans area with four to eight inches of rain between 7 AM and Noon. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
Have a good Mothers day weekend and stay safe.
Slim
I was just looking over the temps in the forecast (on WOOD 8) for next week and they don’t look bad at all. We really start warming up on Wednesday and by the following Monday they are calling for a hi of 71. NICE!!
CPC says get ready for a warm May!
Been over few years since we had a 80* degree day in May that’s a long time let’s hope for one soon ….INDY
Umm May 2018 saw 12 days between 80-94 degrees. So that is false.
The end of May looks like it will be warm. Heck it may even feel hot to some. As I know some will say that anything over 80 is HOT. But just remember we just had one of the coldest 8th of May on record.
Slim
Not even a record. I love it! And 50’s today when WOOD was forecasting mid 40’s a day ago. Not that bad!
The wind makes it feel colder that that. Still one of the top 15 coldest maximums for this date.
Slim
Top 15? LOL
At this time it is 51 here but it is windy so even with the sun it is still a very cool May day.
Slim
Yesterday was a historical cold day across Michigan. While no new records were set it was a top 5 coldest May 8th an many locations. Here at Grand Rapids the high of 44° is the 2nd coldest maximum for the date. And the low of 29° is the 3rd coldest low. (for today May 9th the low of 26 is the 2nd coldest low for May 9th) At Muskegon the yesterdays high of 45 is the 5th coldest maximum and the low of 27 is the 2nd coldest low. To the east at Lansing were records go all the way… Read more »
Wow not even any new records with all this hype? Incredible!
Currently 48* degrees outside well below average again that’s hype enough for middle May …INDY
May 9th is now middle May? LOL
It is still well below average for May 9th and if the current high for the day of 51 is the final high it will be the 11th coldest high for this date. (My intention is not to defend Indy that is up to him) but this is one cold spell for this time of the year. And no amount of spin will change that. Today’s low of 26 will be the new 2nd coldest low for this date.
Slim
Love the facts again slim and the area you post from real weather from …..Could you imagine if it was in the 90’s right now what would be said lol…keep up the good work INDY
What is incredible is that it likely was the coldest May 8th you seen in your lifetime.
Slim
Definitely overhyped and the forecasts were way too cold! We’ve seen plenty of record highs the past year. Way more than record lows.
22* degrees out at thee YARDofBRICKS new record low but the sun is a beautiful thing only 4 and half months to Fall let’s keep it going ….INDY
Only 11 months til next Spring INDY!
Yes!! Such a windy day no fire today …INDY
Looks like we’ll finally get some decent warm weather next week! But cool nights for fires!! That will be nice!!
The over night low here at my house was 26 and that looks to be the official low at GRR as well. At this time it is windy but mostly clear with a temperature of just 36.
Slim
Hamilton dropped to 26, and now we are at 33. We observed our first hummingbirds at the feeder at 6p.m. last evening. I forgot to bring the sugar water filled feeder in last night, and this morning, I had to thaw it out before rehanging:0 Enjoy another wind-chilled day in western Michigan!
Thanks, Slim.
We reached a low of 22.6 at 5:55 this morning. Temp is now slowly crawling upwards – currently 24 degrees with a dewpoint of 18.2
Ouch. I pray for the fruit farmers. ☹️