I have often wondered how many people out there actually read this blog. From my security area here I find that most visit the front page where the local forecasts live and then are drawn into the blog area where we have a more in-depth look at what is going on plus some historical and educational materials. A large percentage of the people who visit are put off by the repetitious banter which goes on here.
I want to keep this blog open for commentary and as I have stated many times in the past you have to back up your comments with data if you are talking about the weather present or future. I have been getting complaints and this could cost me future monetary support for this site. Most of you come from Bill’s blog after they shut down his commentary section due to the same issues. This is the third request over the past month or so, so I will go over the guidelines one last time.
I know there are both snow lovers and those who prefer the warm season we have been having, which is fine. If you wish to expound on your beliefs please provide data other than the CPC maps which are located elsewhere on this site. State your reasoning behind your futurecasts using whatever sources you have available. If you disagree with another commentator, which is fine, back it up with valid reasons and data. Banter is fine as long as it doesn’t become repetitious. And finally respect your fellow bloggers. I want to see various opinions, this is what we are all about, however I want to see the reasons behind those opinions.
Local weather reports are good from the members, I would like to see more of this, this helps others who are traveling or who have local businesses in your area. I would also like to see more comments on the blog post for any given day which has been lacking as some jump right in with how much they like the snow or warmth. If you would like to comment on personal matters or need prayers from the group this is also fine. News worthy events in your area are also fine. Road conditions and weather reports in your area would be appreciated also. I would like to believe we are family here, you have to remember this is a glass house where everyone can look in.
I want to keep the comments section open and keep you all together, but as with Bills blog the powers that be shut it off because of possible loss of revenue and the cost and time of having to monitor it. So, please help me out here to keep this a more profession atmosphere.
Weather History
January 13
1952: Dense fog with visibility near zero leads to a number of auto accidents across southwest Lower Michigan. The fog persists for three days from the 12th to the 14th.
1979: A massive storm dumps heavy snow across southern Lower Michigan. Temperatures in the teens and strong winds lead to heavy drifting of the powdery snow, causing travel to come to a halt. The snow, at times falling at more than an inch an hour, caused power outages due to broken tree limbs. Snow accumulations were up to 3 feet, causing some roofs to collapse. South Haven had 21 inches of new snow added to 24 inches already on the ground. Grand Rapids saw 13.5 inches of snow and 2 to 4 foot drifts with wind gusts between 25 and 35 miles an hour.
January 14
1893: A long siege of arctic cold drops the temperature below zero for 15 out of the first 19 days of January at Lansing. This is the coldest day of the month with a low of 16 below zero.
1932: Grand Rapids is in the midst of a stretch of six days with temperatures above freezing during the warmest January on record.
2005: Two days of heavy rain and high temperatures in the 50s is followed by a stretch of arctic cold, causing massive ice jams to form on the Grand River. The ice jams result in devastating flooding of Robinson Township in Ottawa County. Flooding also occurs on stretches of the Muskegon, Thornapple, Flat and Kalamazoo rivers.
2015: Arctic air and clear skies allow temperatures to drop well below zero. Grand Rapids sets a record low for the second consecutive day with a low of 13 degrees below zero.
January 15
1972: Muskegon falls to 12 below zero to set a record low. The temperature only rises to 4 below zero on this day, the coldest high temperature on record for the month of January at Muskegon. It is also the coldest high temperature for January at Grand Rapids, where the maximum is three below zero.
1984: Lansing plunges to 25 below zero and Grand Rapids falls to 14 below during a stretch of arctic cold. Temperatures are below zero for eight straight days at Lansing between the 14th and the 21st.
January 16
1949: Temperatures reach record highs in the mid to upper 50s for the second consecutive day across southwest Lower Michigan.
1972: The arctic air holds on for one more morning of record lows as Grand Rapids falls to 16 below zero and Muskegon tumbles to 11 below.
January 17
1952: Temperatures rise to record highs of 61 degrees at Battle Creek, 59 degrees at Lansing and 56 at Grand Rapids.
1982: For the second time in a week, extremely cold arctic air drops temperatures to record low levels. The low of 9 below zero at Muskegon is followed by an afternoon high of 7 above. It is even colder away from Lake Michigan where high temperatures remain below zero during the day. Lansing has a high of 1 below and Battle Creek maxes out at 3 below.
January 18
1857: Extreme cold weather prevails across the eastern United States. In Lower Michigan, a temperature of 28 degrees below zero was reported in Grand Rapids.
1976: Arctic air and deep snow results in record cold across interior Lower Michigan. The temperature plunges to 25 below zero at Lansing and 20 below at Jackson. Along Lake Michigan, clouds and an onshore flow keep lows from falling below zero. The low of 10 above at Muskegon is 35 degrees warmer than the low at Lansing.
1996: A blizzard moving through the Dakotas pulls warm air up over Michigan. Record highs in the upper 50s and lower 60s are followed by a line of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms. At least one weak tornado is spawned by the squall line, which is quickly followed by a blast of arctic air and rain changing to snow. Rapids snowmelt and heavy rains, followed by a quick freeze, leads to many areas of ice jam flooding.
January 19
1907: Southerly winds bring moist and mild weather with highs in the 50s followed by heavy rains as a cold front moves through. Grand Rapids sets a record high for the date of 56 degrees along with a record rainfall total of 1.84 inches.
1979: A homeowner was killed when his garage roof collapsed due to the weight of the snow on it. Several other homeowners suffered injuries as roofs collapsed throughout southwest Michigan. There were more than 50 reported roof collapses by the end of February, with most of the collapses occurring in the second half of January. At one point the snow pack was measured as weighing more than 25 pounds per square foot.
1994: Temperatures remain below zero all day long. Extreme cold prevails from the 14th to the 21st but this is the coldest day. Grand Rapids ties the all-time record low for the month of January with 22 below zero, followed by a high of only 2 below zero. An unofficial low of 53 below zero is recorded in the Upper Peninsula at Amasa, Michigan. Water and sewer pipes freeze, causing 50 million dollars in damage across Michigan.
The winter weather advisory expires at 10am this morning. We have had snow on the ground for the past week here in Otsego, not much but enough to cover the landscape. With the .10 of an inch of freezing drizzle it has become crunchy. The clouds should retreat today which should help melt the ice off the frozen main roads. Back roads and areas where the sun doesn’t hit will remain slick so take care.
We are entering the time when we have our first taste of true Arctic air of the season with snow showers and temps in the mid teens on Sunday. Snow is predicted to fall mainly south of I94 from the Thursday system. Our main concern is for Saturday in the short term where we may be on track for 3 to 6 inches of snow. Sunday we will have a more northerly wind which will keep the lake effect away from SW Michigan however as I said it will be cold. In the long term we are watching a major snow storm possibly forming midweek next week – still to far out to give it a worthy prediction as the storm is now out in the Pacific.
GREAT NEWS for SNOW lovers! The mid and long range GFS model still shows us getting hammered with snow the next couple weeks! Welcome back winter!! INCREDIBLE SNOW maps!
https://www.instantweathermaps.com/GFS-php/conussfc.php?run=2019011618&time=PER&var=ASNOWI&hour=384
The last calendar date GR received a inch of snow was on November 26th we are over do! INDY!
We are about ready to make up for lost time! ROCK n ROLL will never die!
Rocky possible snow tomorrow afternoon possible storm Saturday Monday and Wednesday now very active pattern Michigan is going into ….Stay Snow INDY!
I’ll Try again. Professionally IF don’t Like What someone comments it’s Very Simple to Scroll Past. Also…..Big Snowstorm Next Week. My Source NWS GR Forecast Discussion. Stay Cued…for More Updates and CUES!!!!
Lots of models agreeing with the JEM next week on a possibility of 2 winter storms coming short term a must to do friends with the aritc blast coming this will be a good time to check or change your furnace filter your furnace will be a crankin for days and nights coming up…Stay tuned! INDY!
In my Best Elvis Voice…..Thank You Thank You Very Much.
You know it and keep the snow facts coming!
Hey Wth …happened to my comment.
Professionally Speaking ….If I don’t Like what someone Says….I just scroll past it. Try it you will LIKE . Side Note: Big Snowstorm Next Week. Source: NWS GR.
At 420pm update on this weekends possible snow storm I just saw some locals out of Detroit forecasting 5-6 inches with Monroe south to the state line 7-8 inches I have contacted a friend in Detroit area who talks with some of the meteorologist I asked him what was there thought about the higher totals he told me the reason the totals are up is because it’s going to be really cold and the cold air will be making the snow fall really fluffy and light weight instead of wet heavy snow so they think that’s going to help with snow totals being higher like stacking snow? I said he said yes I thought that is new to me has anyone ever herd of that light fluffy snow making snow total higher? Interesting I guess my thought was maybe the low pressure “storm” is moving more norheast now. From fuffly snows to 1 inch of snow this system track is still uncertain also winter storm watches are being posted for Saturday in New York….INDY!
That’s Detroit’s weather .. Not even close to GR. Lol !
Thanks for the info and there is still chance with a small northward trend GR may pick up 4 to 6 inches of snow!
Like i said, a couple inches of snowfall this weekend does not qualify as a snowstorm .Lol !
Oh and my shovel is still sitting in the same place it was over a month ago. 😉
Glad you reminded me…I need to find my shovel again! I’ve used it exactly once this winter back in November.
Not weather related, but I had a crazy day at work today. Probably won’t make the news, maybe the Zeeland Record, but we had a individual come into our business today and was on the verge of going postal. They were screaming at everyone, throwing things around, and scaring the tar out of everyone. I spent half the day giving statements and talking to lawers. Everyone was ok, just pretty shaken up. There are some messed up people in this world today!
Glad everyone is ok and I hope that individual gets the help they need.
Wow Barry … Sorry to hear , scary stuff.
Our roads here are ice free. It disappeared over night. When we had the dog out for last call last night everything that wasn’t salted was iced. Got up this morning and it’s gone.
The sun has really helped my area today. Driveway is totally clear now!
Sun continues to get higher in the sky. Snow wont have a chance to stick around once March rolls around. 🙂
Holy smokes! The Sierra Nevadas west of Tahoe are under blizzard warning. They’re calling for 60-80″ of snow and winds up to 125 mph.
Blizzard conditions are expected for the higher elevations of the Sierra
Nevada through early Thursday with a few/several feet of new snow and
winds in excess of 50 mph forecast. Very heavy snow is also expected for
the mountains of northern California and extending northward across the
Cascades. As the storm system moves inland across the Intermountain West,
heavy snow is expected from Nevada across Utah, southern Idaho, Western
Wyoming, and western Colorado, and these could be heavy at times with over
a foot of snow at higher elevations.
Here are the latest. I couldn’t imagine.
https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=usa&wwa=Blizzard%20Warning
Meanwhile on the other side of Earth, it’s sweltering. Four of the last 10 days have experienced all-time record highs in Australia. It reached 120 yesterday!
Sorry, I don’t have my source. I read it on a news website this morning.
Currently 27* degrees out at thee YARDofBRICKS ne GR temps are falling we may be seeing 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow will a a clipper system coming in opening the door for artic air coming in hard core way….Stay tuned for later observations with INDY!
According to WOOD, most of this weekend’s snow storm will go to our south. But the NWS seems to be very excited about a monster snowstorm middle next week. It would be fun to at least get one snowstorm this year before winter is over.
Your right it’s simple weather doesn’t have to be hot all the time lol…INDY
My wife and I were just talking about that, although I would prefer the storms fall on the weekends, if Mother Nature is taking requests! Lol!!
With Duke going down the other night we should have a new #1 basketball team in the nation Go Blue…Weather thought the AFC championship game in Kansas City Saturday may go down as the coldest playoff game ever in Kansas City I’m thinking they don’t or have not had a lot of home playoff games over the years to have this record broken..INDY!
Yep, INDY Michigan just has to win at Wisconsin Saturday, which won’t be easy. But, Duke plays Virginia and if Virginia wins, they may shoot up to #1 no matter what Michigan does. Oh well, just want Michigan #1 in March!
Forecast temps are warming now for the KC playoff game, still gonna be cold but not as bad as originally forecast. From KC NWS:
Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 18.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 12.
Andy should be a good game I’m cooking a big pot of chili having some cold Sprites and staying warm all weekend watching championship Saturday and Sunday with MICHIGAN as a desert of a wonderful sports weekend ahead…I’m going with chiefs Rams Superbowl! Let it get cold let it get cold..INDY!
My wife and I may venture out to downtown GR on Saturday after the Michigan game and hit some different places we haven’t been before and get home fairly early in the evening. Then Sunday we’ll be at home watching football, baking and cooking all day! Looking forward to that and plenty of Sprites at home on Sunday!
Thumbs up bud ….I don’t get downtown enough have fun..Dress warm!! INDY!
Thanks INDY! Yeah we like to go Downtown in the winter when there’s not as much of a crowd down there and we get out of town before 7pm when the college kids start showing up downtown! Stay warm!
A huge snowstorm would be nice!
MV I have all kinds of maps weather pages and other sources I follow and even my own weather page with two other friends for some reason My phone I use will not or I’m just not doing it right on how to download maps and pictures on your blog so I try to give the blog the most accurate are current conditions from my house thee YARDofBRICKS ne side of GR…I enjoy your blog and try not to make trouble and if I am I apologize thanks for letting INDY be apart of your blog..Weather news we can’t forget about the wind chill this weekend seeing 20 to 30 below 0 in some parts of Michigan this will be a shock for most seeing how it’s been some what mild the last month and yes next weeks looks to be a windy one also maybe even a blizzard.. Stay tuned…INDY!
It’s simple. Post your sources. Don’t wishcast.
That snowstorm for next week has some real potential! The EURO gives us a major snowstorm! Let’s hope it is spot on!
There was some light freezing mist and snow here overnight no where near as much ice as yesterday morning and thus the roads are much better. So far this winter season the name of the game has been mild temperatures and very little snow fall. Here we are at January 16 and here are some snow fall totals for Grand Rapids at this point. For January the snow fall has been just 1.1” so far Since December 1st the total is just 4.3” and for the season to date just 18.7” Grand Rapids is now almost 2 feet below average snow fall this winter. It is generally cloudy here now but the clouds are thinning out and it should clear out soon. The temperature has been dropping here and is now down to 29.4° it was at 32.2 when I woke up.
Slim
I agree with MV please back up your post with facts, I know some times one can have a “gut” feeling as to what could happen. And remember if you post weather reports make sure you use accurate reports. Both MV and myself send reports out to CoCoRahs my one issue with CoCoRahs is there reporting time as they would like the reports in between 6AM and 930 AM that is fine if one gets up early but I am not a early riser I would much rather if I could report at 12 Midnight.
Slim