January 10, 1982, Extreme arctic outbreak brings record cold temperatures and massive lake effect snow totals. Muskegon has their snowiest calendar day on record with 22 inches. This contributes to the all-time record monthly snowfall of 102.4 inches (8 and a half feet!) at Muskegon for January 1982. Yes, that is right 22” in one day and 102.4” in one month. For the month the mean at Muskegon was 16.1 that is a departure of -10.5° the highest reading for the month was 38 on the 3rd and the lowest reading was -10 on the 16th. The month had 7 nights below zero. There every day had at least 5” of snow on the ground with the most being 26” For the season Muskegon had 173.9” and that is the record for a season at Muskegon. While February only had a total of 8.1” of snowfall there was deep snow cover for all 28 days. There was snow of at least 1” or more until March 15th
To the SE of Muskegon at Grand Rapids there was just 30.3” of snowfall for January, 1982 but with it being a rather cold month with a mean of 17.2° there was 2” or more on all 31 days. On the day that Muskegon record 22” Grand Rapids only had 3.2” February at Grand Rapids was cold and dry with only 6.7” of snowfall but as in Muskegon February had snow cover all of the 28 days of the month. At Grand Rapids the snow was all gone on March 11th For the season Grand Rapids only had 74.5” of snowfall
Over at Lansing the total snowfall for January, 1982 was just 15.2” but there was snow cover on all 31 days and all 28 day had snow cover as well and the snow was gone in Lansing on March 13th For the season Lansing had 62.1” All in all the winter of 1981/82 was a record setting snowfall one at Muskegon and while not as snowy it was cold with snow cover for the whole winter season.
Some weather history for January 10th around the US.
1975 – The “Storm of the Century” hit Minnesota. A severe blizzard moved northward across the state producing up to two feet of snow. High winds drove wind chill readings to 80 degrees below zero, and at Duluth MN the barometric pressure dipped to 28.55 inches. The storm, which claimed 35 lives, occurred on the 102nd anniversary of the infamous “Pioneer Blizzard” in Minnesota.
1982 – The temperature at O’Hare Airport in Chicago, IL, plunged to an all-time record of 26 degrees below zero, and high winds drove the wind chill reading to 77 degrees below zero. The temperature in Downtown Chicago reached 23 degrees below zero. A week later a second arctic surge sent the temperature plunging back down to 25 degrees below zero.
1990 – Strong southerly winds ahead of a Pacific cold front helped temperatures in the central U.S. soar as much as 50 degrees during the day. A total of fifty cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, with afternoon highs in the 70s reported as far north as Nebraska and eastern Colorado. Highs of 53 at devils Lake ND, 76 at Grand Island NE, 73 at Lincoln NE, and 73 at North Platte NE, established records for the month of January
The official H/L yesterday at GRR was 25/16 the was 0.21” of precipitation that fell as 2.5” of snow. The highest wind gust was 21 MPH out of the S. There was 0% of possible sunshine. For today the average H/L is 31/19 the record high of 58 was in 2018 the coldest high of 6 was in 1912 the record low of -21 was in 1979 the warmest low of 39 was in 2018. The wettest was 2.02” in 2020 the most snow fall of 6.9” was in 1991 the most on the ground was 17” in 1999.
Here in MBY I had 2.25” of new snow fall yesterday and now have 3” on the ground. The low and current temperature is 25 and there is some very light snow falling.
REA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
340 AM EST SAT JAN 11 2025
KEY MESSAGES
– LAKE EFFECT SNOW SATURDAY MORNING
– OCCASIONAL SNOW SUNDAY, SLIGHT CHANCE OF A MIX
– COLDER WITH LAKE EFFECT SNOW MONDAY TO WEDNESDAY
DISCUSSION
ISSUED AT 340 AM EST SAT JAN 11 2025
– LAKE EFFECT SNOW SATURDAY MORNING
THE UPPER LEVEL AND SURFACE TROUGHS ARE MOVING AWAY, AND A SHORT
WINDOW FOR HEAVIER BURSTS OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW IS OCCURRING THIS
MORNING. COLDER 850 MB AIR IS SUPPORTING LAKE EFFECT CONVECTIVE
CLOUDS REACHING THROUGH THE DGZ, SUPPORTING HIGHER SNOW/LIQUID
RATIO SNOW OF 1 INCH PER HOUR AT TIMES IN THE COUNTIES ALONG LAKE
MICHIGAN. A BLEND OF SEVERAL EARLIER RUNS OF THE HRRR FAVOR
PORTIONS OF OTTAWA, ALLEGAN, AND VAN BUREN COUNTIES TO BE MORE APT
TO RECEIVE LOCALLY GREATER AMOUNTS CLOSER TO 4 INCHES THIS
MORNING AMID THE NORTHWEST WINDS. AREAS STILL UNDER THE WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY RECEIVED ABOUT 2 TO 3 INCHES OF DENSER SNOW ON
FRIDAY, AND SHOULD GET ANOTHER 1 TO 4 INCHES OF LAKE EFFECT FLUFF
ON TOP TO END THIS EVENT. BY MID DAY, RIDGING WILL SUPPRESS THE
LAKE EFFECT BUT WINDS BECOMING MORE WEST MAY CARRY A FEW SNOW
SHOWERS FARTHER INLAND BEFORE THEY DISSIPATE. A FEW BREAKS IN THE
CLOUDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE TODAY.
– OCCASIONAL SNOW SUNDAY, SLIGHT CHANCE OF A MIX
THE NEXT ALBERTA-CLIPPER STYLE UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH WILL MAINTAIN A
SURFACE LOW ACROSS THE MIDWEST THAT WILL TRACK FROM NEAR
MINNEAPOLIS TO LAKE SUPERIOR SUNDAY TO SUN NIGHT. OCCASIONAL LIGHT
ACCUMULATING SNOW IS LIKELY OVER MUCH OF THE AREA, THOUGH
RELATIVELY LESS SO IN SOUTHEASTERN LOCATIONS. FROM EARLY SUNDAY
MORNING INTO EARLY EVENING, WARM ADVECTION WING PRECIP PRODUCTION
IS EXPECTED AS DEEP UPPER-LEVEL MOISTURE, WHICH INCLUDES A MOSTLY
SATURATED DGZ, CREATES SNOW THAT FALLS THROUGH AND EVENTUALLY
OVERCOMES THE DRIER MIDLEVELS TO SEED THE NOT-AS-COLD LOW-LEVEL
CLOUDS. SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE CAN’T TOTALLY BE RULED OUT IN
SOUTHERN AREAS FOR PART OF THE DAY SUNDAY IF THE DRIER MIDLEVELS
PREVAIL WHILE LIFT OCCURS IN THE LOWER LEVELS. MEANWHILE, AREAS
NORTH OF MUSKEGON MAY SEE LAKE ENHANCEMENT AUGMENTING THE SNOW
TOTALS DURING THE AFTERNOON, THOUGH WET BULB TEMPERATURES MAY
CLIMB A LITTLE ABOVE 32 AND INTRODUCE A CHANCE OF SOME WETTER SNOW
OR RAIN MIXING IN. BRIEFLY HEAVIER SNOW MAY SWEEP THROUGH WITH A
SURFACE COLD FRONT FROM WEST TO EAST SUNDAY EVENING, AND FORECAST
SOUNDINGS AND LOW-LEVEL WIND FIELDS HAVE THE LOOK OF A MODEST SNOW
SQUALL. SNOW TOTALS DURING THE DAY SUNDAY SHOULD BE GENERALLY 0.5
TO 1 INCH NEAR AND SOUTH OF HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS, AND ALMA, AND
2 TO 3 INCHES NEAR AND NORTHWEST OF MUSKEGON TO MOUNT PLEASANT.
– COLDER WITH LAKE EFFECT SNOW MONDAY TO WEDNESDAY
500 MB LOW AND ASSOCIATED POOL OF SUB-ARCTIC AIR AT AND BELOW 850
MB ARE CURRENTLY OVER NUNAVUT AND WILL BE SWINGING THROUGH THE
GREAT LAKES DURING MONDAY AND TUESDAY. BANDS OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW
ARE LIKELY AMID WEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW AND MAY OFTEN EXTEND INLAND
TOWARD LANSING AND JACKSON. THE 500 MB LOW AND COLDEST 850 MB
TEMPERATURES AROUND -20 C ARE LIKELY TO BE PASSING THROUGH TUESDAY
MORNING, SETTING UP A DAY WITH TEMPERATURES MOSTLY IN THE TEENS,
AND MORNING WIND CHILLS NEAR TO A LITTLE BELOW ZERO. LAKE EFFECT
SNOW WILL TEND TO BE DRY AND POWDERY WITH A TENDENCY FOR REDUCED
FLAKE SIZE AS THE COLDEST AIR MOVES THROUGH, AND GUSTS OVER 25 MPH
IN OPEN AREAS MAY CREATE SOME BLOWING SNOW CONCERNS.
Detailed Forecast For Grand Rapids
Overnight
A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 26. Calm wind.
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of snow showers before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
A 30 percent chance of snow showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph after midnight.
Sunday
Snow showers. High near 33. South southeast wind 6 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
Sunday Night
Snow showers likely, mainly before 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 19. West wind around 9 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Monday
A 50 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 22.
Monday Night
Snow showers likely, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 11. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday
Snow showers likely, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 19.
Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 13.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 24.
Wednesday Night
A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16.
Thursday
A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31.
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23.
Friday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 34.
This map is for all the warm weather fanatics that constantly post above normal temp maps and constantly spew fantasies about a mild dry winter! Looking great!
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/
Let it SNOW, let it SNOW, let it SNOW! Rock n Roll will never die! Who loves cold and SNOW?
January is one of the best months of the year in MI!
That is the spirit
There have been 5.5 inches of system and lake-effect snow in the past two days, 12.7 inches in January, and 36.1 inches since November.
Nice!
Snow is rapidly melting with the warmth and sun! I was hoping it would pile up. But it is nice seeing the sun.
35 and nothing but sunshine here. The snow on all the hard surfaces is already gone.
Sun and 35 degrees? How about cloudy and 31 degrees with pending snow events in the 2- 3 days! What a winter!!!! Wow!!!
What a winter! The snow and cold just keeps coming and coming!
What a storm and now get ready for more snow on Sunday and then a monster front on Monday! Monday night/ Tuesday will be cold, snowy, windy, bad roads, wind chills below Zero! Get prepared and get ready for another WWA! Wow, just wow, WOW! Could be a record breaking winter this year!
Looks like most of the CWA got 1-3”. Another good forecast by the professionals.
Yup. Very well forecasted. We got 2.5-3”. They called for 1-3.