Midpoint of Meteorological Winter

midpoint of meteorological winter

Today marks the halfway point of meteorological winter. While like all seasons there is a good possibility that winter like conditions will continue into March but for the most part we will start to see the pattern start to swing into more spring like conditions by mid-March. We are now moving away from Perihelion when the earth is the closest to the sun. This year perihelion was on January 4^th and the Earth was 91,406,842 miles from the sun. Aphelion will happen next summer on July 4^th when the Earth will be 94,509,598 miles from the sun. The date can vary by one or two days and the distance can vary by a few thousand miles. If the roles were reversed, we would be probably be 3° colder in the winter and 3° warmer in summer. One more note currently yes Mookie winter is a shorter season than summer as being closer to the sun the Earth is traveling faster in the winter than in the summer. In the next few years the closes the Earth will be to the sun is 91,403,034 on January 4^th 2023. And the furthest away will be 94,510,539 on July 6, 2024.

I will try to put into perspective a little different as to the climate of Michigan. Here in Michigan, we are between a Continental and Temperate climate. That is because Michigan latitude is between 41°41′ N to 48°18′ N. Being on the borderline we swing between the two. The Continental have warm to cool summers and very cold winters. In the winter, this zone can experience snowstorms, strong winds, and very cold temperatures—sometimes falling below -22°F (-30°C) think areas to the north of Grand Rapids. and the Temperate zone. In this zone, there are typically warm and humid summers with thunderstorms and mild winters. Think areas to the south of Grand Rapids. Think areas to our south. We get into both zones from time to time. Using the Koppen-Geiger-Pohl climate classification Grand Rapids has a Dfa climate with very warm and humid summers, cold and snowy winters, and short and mild springs and autumns. That is based on our average temperatures per month and our average annual snow fall of 77.5”.

Here is the winter round up as of January 14^th, 2022. First off almost half of the states had either their warmest December ever (10) or their 2nd warmest ever (14) and the country overall with its warmest at almost 7 degrees above average. Here in Michigan, it was our 8th warmest overall.

We are now at the halfway point of meteorological winter. At Grand Rapids the mean so far this winter is 28.5 that is +0.4° above the average of 28.1. At Muskegon the average is now at 31.4 that is +1.7 above average. At Lansing the mean is 28.9 and like Muskegon that is +1.7 above average as of this date. The highest for meteorological winter is 63 at all locations the low so far is +1 at Grand Rapids, +10 at Muskegon and +3 over at Lansing. As for snow fall so far this meteorological winter Grand Rapids has recorded 29.1” and for the season so far 38.8” the most in one days 8.0” on January 5^th At Muskegon they have only had 20.7” for the meteorological winter and are now at 26.3” for the season that about 15” below average. At Lansing they have had 13.2” for the meteorological winter and 18.9” for the season so far. Bottom line is that this meteorological winter has been warmer than average with below to around average snow fall so far.

Slim

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Rocky (Rockford)

Great news>>>64 more days of winter and all signs point towards plenty of below normal temps and tons of snow! Great prepared for the rock n roll party!

Andy W

Snow depths have really taken a beating in the last week!! The weather stations all around Kent County are reporting around 3” of snow depth throughout the county. With some more melting in the Tuesday/Wednesday timeframe we should take care of a lot more of it! Another below average snowfall winter and spring is coming quick, WHO KNEW?!?!!

https://www.infomi.com/snowmobile_trail_reports/Snow_Depth.php?element=snowdepth

https://days.to/until/spring

Barry in Zeeland

Thanks Slim! If not for a couple days last week, we would really have a large snow deficit. Have to love todays NE wind. Gives us clear and sunny skies and the lake effect is on the other side of the lake.