Yesterday was a soggy day, we had over an inch of rain (according to my digital gauge, I will get the official analog reading later this morning). The high temperature was 44° and the low 36°.
Some sunshine is expected today though it will be brief. Colder weather will return Tuesday and continue through the rest of the week with snow chances returning. The Euro forecast shows that our temperatures will drop in the low to mid-20s by this weekend and will last for the foreseeable future.
Weather History
1976: Temperatures fall to record lows across Lower Michigan. At Lansing, the thermometer plunges to 17 below zero. It hits 11 below at Grand Rapids and Muskegon. The low at Muskegon sets the record for December, which will be broken the very next day with a low of 15 below.
2000: Lansing picked up another 2.4 inches of snow, bringing the monthly total to over 33 inches and making December 2000 the snowiest December on record.
On December 30, 1971, Detroit recorded the greatest amount of precipitation in 24 hours for the year. The recorded measurement was 1.37 inches.
Forecast Discussion
- Brief respite from the clouds today The upper level low that brought record rainfall to parts of southern Michigan will move eastward today. High pressure in its wake will bring drying mid levels which should stifle clouds enough to allow for sunshine this afternoon. Temperatures should peak in the low to mid 40s, which is around 10 degrees above normal. That sunshine will be short lived as another system will move into the region overnight into tomorrow. - Rain/Snow Mix transitioning to mostly snow late Tuesday Models continue to come into focus with a large upper level low passing along the southern portion of Michigan Tuesday. Clouds will overspread the region with rain moving northward into Michigan from the south early Tuesday. Model variance continues to decrease which gives credence to a higher confidence for precipitation Tuesday. The highest QPF remains to the south. However, the eastern half of the state should have sufficient moisture advecting into Michigan. While the precipitation should begin as rain on Tuesday, there will be a transition period midday before switching to mostly snow mid to late Tuesday. Latest mid range models continue to show 850mb temps of -1 to -5C late Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening. That cold air advection on the back side of the low, coupled with the deformation bands and good mid to low level Omega flow should allow for increased snowfall rates Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening. The areas most likely to receive snow will be on a line extending from just south of Saginaw Bay across southern lower Michigan to southwest Michigan. The areas that should be most affected should be the Lansing, Charlotte, Marchall and Jackson regions. The big question for snowfall accumulations will be three fold. First, the wintry mix and when the precip transitions to mostly snow. Two, the marginal surface temperatures and three, the wet surface. Lansing received a record amount of rain yesterday so not only will there be rain early Tuesday but a near saturated ground will make snowfall accumulation difficult. If the snow bands are strong enough there is the potential to overcome the above limitations. Given these factors have 1 to 2 inches possible along and east of the I 69 corridor. - Winter returns for the New Year A strong, negatively tilted upper level trough stemming from an upper level low situated over central Canada will dominate the pattern into the New Year and into the upcoming weekend. Strong, persistent northwesterly flow will allow for cold air advection along with lake effect snow chances through the latter half of the week and into the weekend. 850mb temps continue to trend cold with 850mb Temps at -14C and lower by Thursday. That will translate to 20s at the surface.
Wind chills in the mid 20’s all day tomorrow with some light snow moving in! Like I said, forget about mid 40’s and sunny! Bring on WINTER cold and SNOW!!!!!!!! I love it!
Sunny and a very mild 46 here at this time. I went for a walk and the pond to the west of me is now ice free. That is unusual for late December.
Slim
I’d have to imagine that pond will look a lot different in 2-3 weeks…
Give me temps in the teens and low 20’s = perfect outdoor winter sports temps! Bring it!
When was the last time GR saw a negative temperature? It’s been a long time, right?
It was not that long ago. GR had lows of -4 and -5 in January during the two weeks of winter last winter.
Slim
Thanks for the facts Slim! So it has not been that long ago! Who knew?
Nothing better for winter sports than super cold temps! Wow!!!
Forget about sunny and mid forties – winter weather is about ready to pound West MI! The great skiing conditions will keep getting better and better! Nothing better than an extended visit from the polar vortex! Like I said, it is going to get wild! Bring it!
Wow, with sunny skies and a temperature of 45 and all the rain in the last couple of days the grass is springtime green here and it looks more like April than the end of December. I don’t remember the grass being this green just before New Years.
Slim
45 and sunny and super green grass!
Bill Steffen posted this. Figured I’d post it here.
“From Dr. Ryan Maue: “We’ve been watching the progress of the Canadian Arctic “polar vortex” as it wobbles thru the middle troposphere into Great Lakes and Southeast into mid-January.
This is a long-lasting and potentially severe cold event for the Eastern U.S.”
What? You mean it won’t be in the forties all winter? How could it be?
Great – more snow and super cold temps again before it all melts. Horrible winter for winter sports continues!
Anyone see Bill S say his “blog is going to be moving shortly”. Not sure if it being taken down or moved to a personal website or something? But that will be a bit upsetting, Ive read it every day since middle school
I have not used Bills blog very often since the big wigs forced him to no longer allow comments!
Go over winter driving skills
Load up on can goods water and TP
Have extra blankets ready
Check on your pets and elderly!!
Prepare now!! INDY
Polor vortex on the horizon long lasting cold start preparing now …INDY
Winter storm is looking good for Monday! Start preparing now!! Let’s Gooooo!! INDY
What? Who knew?
It sure has been a great winter for downhill skiing! Above normal snowfall and a great snow outlook for the rest of winter! Incredible winter so far! Wow, just wow, WOW!!!
Looks like the outlook for the rest of the winter = tons of SNOW! Not sure how it could be better!
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=1
That looks to be a lot of rain
Fantasy land again! Pathetic!
It sure has been a bad winter for winter sports so far. Either we get snow and then it melts right away or we get snow and it’s freezing and windy for days before it melts.
Looks like December could come in warm with below average snow.
Record setting rainfall yesterday in this area. Imagine if it was snow?
I’m going to take down the exterior Christmas lights today since we have a nice day to it. We will leave the tree and indoor decorations up for awhile longer.
We may do some moving of some lights outside. I like leaving them up because it is so dark out there. We did buy some that can change colors, so I will change to more blues for January and red for February!!! Lol.
We will leave tree up for awhile as well.
We have those too – on the house, garage, and along the walkway from the house to the sidewalk. We like to change the colors to coincide with the seasons and holidays.
The official H/L yesterday at GRR was 43/37 there was 1.00” of rainfall that is good for 2nd place for December 29th There was no sunshine the highest wind was 35 MPH out of the N. For today the average H/L is 33/22 the record high of 60 was in 1936 the coldest high of 11 was in 1976 the record low of -11 was in 1976 the warmest low of 39 was in 1965. The most rainfall of 1.75” was in 1972 the most snowfall of 7.0” was in 2001 and the most on the ground was 14” in 1909.
Slim
1.36 inches of rain for Otsego.
Get ready – real winter weather is about ready to hammer us! Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Winter rocks!