This Weeks Weather History – Firearm Deer Hunting Opens Today

 

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Today is the first day of firearm deer hunting.  Watch out for deer running amuck on the road.  I have had a few close calls over the past month.

Remember, no matter what you brain says, if a deer runs in front of you  when you are driving hold your path unless you are sure you can go around them without hitting another car.  Keep in mind there will generally be more than one crossing the road.  Better to hit the deer rather than another car.  I have had a head on with a car and it ain’t pretty and could be deadly.

We have deer in the woods around my home – they have been making appearances along my fence gazing at my numerous bird feeders.  Before we put the fence up they used to come up close to the house and eat out of the feeders which are 5 feet off the ground. The fence we put up was to separate the wildlife from our dogs. We love our wild life so they are safe here, the neighbors feel the same so no hunting is allowed.

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Today is weather history day – a couple notable events which are highlighted in red.

November 12

1873: Winter arrives early with 5 inches of snow at Lansing, followed by a string of record lows in the single digits, including a 1 degree reading on the morning of the 13th.

November 13

1986: High temperatures are held in the upper teens to lower 20s as arctic air pours into Lower Michigan. The high of 19 degrees at Grand Rapids is a record for the date and the coldest high temperature for so early in the season.

November 14

1908: Heavy snow falls across western Lower Michigan with a total of 16 inches at Muskegon, a record total for any November day.

November 15

1933: Michigan is in the grip of a four day cold snap. The low of 10 degrees at Grand Rapids only rises to 18 degrees during the afternoon as lake effect snow showers swirl around and an icy northwest wind makes it feel even colder.

November 16

1959: A vast area of arctic high pressure brings record cold to much of the continental United States. High temperatures only reach the teens across much of Lower Michigan followed by record lows in the single digits on the morning of the 17th.

November 17

1989: Grand Rapids picks up seven inches of snow, bringing accumulations during a three day storm to over a foot.

2013: A squall line of severe thunderstorms moved through Lower Michigan during the afternoon bringing widespread wind damage. Hundreds of trees were knocked down and thousands lost power from downbursts and brief tornadoes along the line of storms.  The feature image shows the tornado outbreak overview.

• This event had just over 70 tornadoes across seven states – Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.  Illinois and Indiana had 55 of these tornadoes.
• There were 25 tornadoes in Illinois identified, with 14 being significant (EF-2 or stronger).  Of these, two were EF-4 and three were EF-3.  For a complete listing, see this list from NWS Lincoln, IL.
• This ranked as the 4th largest outbreak for the state of Illinois, in terms of number of tornadoes, since 1950.  (list complied by NWS Lincoln)
• There were 30 tornadoes in Indiana identified, which ranks this event as the second largest number of tornadoes in one day in state history.
• One supercell in Illinois produced five tornadoes, which were the ones to impact Pekin, Washington, Dana, Coal City, Manhattan, and Frankfort. 
• The EF-4 tornado with maximum estimated winds of 190 mph that struck Washington, IL was the strongest on record for Illinois in the month of November since 1950.  
• 101 tornado warnings were issued for Illinois by the National Weather Service on November 17th.

November 18

1958: Record high temperatures are set all across Lower Michigan as a southerly flow of air pushes afternoon high temperatures to around 70 degrees. At Muskegon, the temperature hits a record 71 degrees for the second day in a row.

2014: Arctic air prevails with high temperatures in the teens and heavy lake effect snow. Nearly 10 inches of snow falls at Grand Rapids, contributing to a record November total of 31 inches.

• The National Football League’s Buffalo Bills, National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres and University at Buffalo’s Buffalo Bulls were forced to postpone games due to the event. The Bills’ home stadium, known as Ralph Wilson Stadium at the time, was in the center of the band and because most of the players’ homes and the roads around the stadium were impassable, as well as the Stadium itself being snowed in, the National Football League ordered the November 23 game against the New York Jets to be relocated to a neutral site, eventually chosen to be Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan that took place the following night.  The video below shows the lake effect snow moving into Buffalo New York off Lake Eerie.

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