Yesterday, we had a high of 31° and a low of 15°. Our total snowfall for the month is 6.8 inches, and 16.4 inches have fallen since November 21st. Last year, during this same time period, we had 8 inches, which fell on November 28th.
Mostly cloudy skies are anticipated today. Highs will reach the upper 20s to around 30 degrees this afternoon. There will be a brisk wind out of the west at 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts. The next good chance for precipitation will come Sunday night into Monday as rain spreads into the area. Temperatures will be in the low to mid-40s during this time period.
Weather History
1958: Arctic air settles into Lower Michigan during one of the coldest December on record. High temperatures are only in the teens on this date. More than two feet of lake effect snow piles up at Muskegon during the first half of the month.
On December 6, 1998, the temperature rose to 69 degrees in Detroit. This set the record for the maximum temperature for December in Detroit. This was followed by severe thunderstorms and wind damage across Southeast Michigan. The majority of the severe weather occurred near or south of Interstate 69. The most notable exception to this was a swath of wind damage across southern Sanilac County, from Marlette to Lexington. Barns and silos were destroyed near Marlette, and a home was deroofed.
Forecast Discussion
- Light Snow Possible Friday and Saturday Radar shows lake effect snow showers continue to diminish as inversion heights fall. The Winter Storm Warning was allowed to expire at 1 am as a result. There is a low chance of light snow returning this evening as a weak shortwave passes through the region. If any accumulations did occur from this, they would be minor so impacts are not expected. The overall pattern changes into Saturday as warm air advection begins to take hold. Highs climb into the mid thirties as a result. Signals continue to point to the potential for a light burst of snow or a rain/snow mix associated with the elevated warm front Saturday, with the best chance of precipitation across Central Lower Michigan. There is a low (approx. 10 percent) chance that a brief wintry mix occurs across Central Lower Michigan, however given marginal thermal profiles though forecast soundings are not supportive of this outcome. Precipitation chances look to max out at 30 percent or so with any snowfall limited to less than an inch. - Significant Warmup and Rain Likely Sunday Into Monday Much warmer conditions arrive Sunday into Monday as the peak of thermal ridging crosses the upper Great Lakes. Highs across West Michigan are forecast to reach well into the forties during this timeframe which should melt off much if not all of the snow received in recent days. Our next significant chance of precipitation looks to be Sunday Night into Monday as a southern stream shortwave ejects into the Great Lakes region and shears out as it does so. Cluster analysis shows only minimal differences in the large scale pattern supporting likely (50-70) PoPs in this timeframe, highest south closest to the wave. While uncertainty in totals still exists, significant precipitation is not expected with LREF probabilities of over 0.25 inches of rain being less than 50 percent areawide. - Cold Air and Snow Chances Return Mid Next Week High confidence in a return to colder conditions mid to late next week as a cold front marks the return of longwave troughing and cyclonic flow. 850mb temps fall back to -10C or colder marking a favorable pattern for lake effect snow chances. However, uncertainty in the strength and evolution of large scale troughing remains leading to uncertainty in the low-level wind pattern. The extent and placement of accumulations depends on the low-level flow pattern meaning that specifics on any lake effect chances remain uncertain. This will have to be fine-tuned over the coming days as the large scale pattern becomes clear.
I am taking all bets at 2 to 1 odds. I say White Christmas! Any takers?
After a brief cool down mid week the long range guess well into December still looks to be mild and now on the wet side. Too early to say for sure but could a green Christmas be on the cards for west Michigan?
Slim
I read that historically, we generally have a 50/50 chance of white or green Christmas. I suspect that you would have more definitive data.
It will turn cold the week of Christmas and we have a 90% chance of a white Christmas! Wow!
Forecasted to be mostly cloudy here today. However, it has been very sunny here since sunrise. Not complaining, though.
On a side note – The lions are now 12-1. I have been watching them for over 50 years and this is the most exciting year I remember.
1/3 of the team is on Injured Reserve, including 13 on defense. Regardless, they just keep winning. It is unbelievable.
So much for warm and dry for the rest of December! Get ready for snow with highs in the 20’s by the middle of next week! What a winter! Above normal snowfall for the month and the season! Get ready to rock people!
The official H/L yesterday at GR was 30/17 there was 0.9” of snowfall. There was 3” on the ground. The highest wind gust was 42 MPH out to the NW. the sun was out 40% of the time. For today the average H/L is 39/27 the record high of 63 was in 1951 the coldest high of 17 was in 1958. The record low was 0 in 1964 the warmest low was 40 in 1998. The wettest was 0.93” in 1966 the most snowfall was 7.0” in 1919 the most on the ground was 10” in 1991.
Slim