Michigan Weather

I was born in 1962 and have lived in Michigan all of my life. Growing up right up to the early 80's our weather was the same as it has been since recorded Michigan history.

We have harsh winters with lots of snow and hot humid summers. Until sometime in the 80's it all changed. We suddenly had very minimal winters and spring and fall had disappeared it would go from winter to summer without any transition, this has been going on until about three years ago.

The change in our winters the past 25 years has been weird enough. These past three though have been really bad. The winters suddenly became really harsh. Very long with record lows and record snowfall.

Whats worst is the past two summers have been very cool. Last year it didn't feel like summer until early July, after a really long harsh winter.

This year summer still hasn't quite set in we should be having heat int the 90's with hot arid nights. It has been so cold at night you can see your breath. The days are in the 50's to 70's with mostly rainy days. We have had some leaves changing color in our backyard that are in the afternoon shade of our house! They started changing color last week.

Too many strange anomalies have been going on to even begin to explain here. Our weather has become intensely erratic to the point that its becoming a bit alarming.



[edit on 15-7-2009 by LoneGunMan]

I'm assuming northern Michigan or the U.P. I used to live in Mercer Wisconsin and recall some dangerously cold winters before I moved back south. Once I had a flat tire on one of the coldest nights, said to be about 50 below or close to it.

The only thing I miss is the scenery and the clear skies and northern or shimmering lights. Weather patterns do seem to be changing. Time will tell when the sun starts it's next upward cycles though.

As well as the solar cycles, I believe that the El Nino and La Nina weather patterns are greatly influencing the recent weather. While it may seem stange, its probably not, but due to the length of time in which the macro weather patterns exist, and fluctuate, the weather may seem different as to what it had been previously

I recall a really cool summer over 5 years ago and it almost ruined the type of business for us that year for refrigeration repairs. I didn't mind the cooler weather compared to the hot ones. But not much overtime that summer. I recall a few bad winters growing up in Illinois.

I think that a measure of "alarm" is warranted here. The weather is "out of its tree" so to speak. I am in Iowa. We are a bit luckier here I suppose. If I was a planetary doctor (which I am not) I would say take a holistic approach. In other words, let us consider many of the factors.

Do you remember the last time that your local meteorologist showed you the jet stream? Thought not.

Extremely lazy person, so you will have to do your own research but let us consider:

Land rising overnight in Alaska
African rift appearing in minutes
Tsunamis
Many new Earthquakes
Large tornadoes in northern places
Anomalous tides in Puerto Rico and Maine
Extreme heat in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, not to mention Miami
etc, etc...

Well, there you have it. It IS extremely weird right now. Next step, let us figure out why...

I think that we are witnessing a jet stream that is very extreme north to south, coming up behind the plains and diving down before it gets to Michigan.

Oh, and go Hawkeyes, the Wolverines are toast this fall just like 85!!!

Best to you!

Originally posted by Chemley
Do you remember the last time that your local meteorologist showed you the jet stream? Thought not.

Ummmm...

You know what I do for a living right? If you want to see where the jetstream is, I will show you....

I agree the weather in Mi has been very strange. It has been a cool summer. We are supposed to be in the 70's the next few days. We had a few 90 degree days, but mostly it's been in the low 80's. We've only been able to swim in our pool a couple of days this summer and have only had to use the air maybe 6 days total. Where I'm at, we went from winter to summer with no spring to speak of.

Originally posted by LoneGunMan
We have harsh winters with lots of snow and hot humid summers. Until sometime in the 80's it all changed. We suddenly had very minimal winters and spring and fall had disappeared it would go from winter to summer without any transition, this has been going on until about three years ago.

The change in our winters the past 25 years has been weird enough. These past three though have been really bad. The winters suddenly became really harsh. Very long with record lows and record snowfall.

Whats worst is the past two summers have been very cool. Last year it didn't feel like summer until early July, after a really long harsh winter.

This year summer still hasn't quite set in we should be having heat int the 90's with hot arid nights. It has been so cold at night you can see your breath. The days are in the 50's to 70's with mostly rainy days. We have had some leaves changing color in our backyard that are in the afternoon shade of our house! They started changing color last week.

Too many strange anomalies have been going on to even begin to explain here. Our weather has become intensely erratic to the point that its becoming a bit alarming.

I hail from Michigan as well - born and raised ( though by now I have lived in lots and lots of other places too ), and I have to agree that your description is accurate.

Here in Ann Arbor things the last few years have been exactly as you have described - more than a 'little strange' ...

Anyway, here's my opinion of what's going on -

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4cd0271de78f.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b95af064cf6c.jpg[/atsimg]
These were taken here in Ann Arbor back in May of this year ...

I must agree totally.

I'm in SE Michigan, about fifteen miles west of Detroit, and the weather has been crazy as all hell. There's been roughly 4 or 5 days for swimming.
It's suppose to be summer, but has been in temps equivalent to mid-May.

I recall the older seasons- extreme cold to extreme hot. Now we have winters that last from October to early May. Late April if we're lucky.

I'm In Michigan also and I had my heat on for a few on July 4th this year.

Global warming

I'm in SE Michigan too, about 45 min south of Detroit. I remember a couple of years ago, it snowed the beginning of May. I remember because it was on my daughters Birthday. It seems to me that the cotton from the neighbors cotton wood trees fell late this summer. Everything seems to be out of whack.

Also, last year, I didn't get my garden started until mid June. I usually get it going the last week of May. This year I was able to get things out 15 May.

[edit on 16-7-2009 by virraszto]

reply to post by visible_villain


Aren't those just from jet planes? I'm confused. I don't see that and I'm in Michigan.

Originally posted by 22-250
I'm In Michigan also and I had my heat on for a few on July 4th this year.

Global warming

Actually the world has cooled over the last 2 or so years, I think its heating again though.

What you are experiencing is local weather rather than an impact on a global scale

Originally posted by aleon1018
reply to post by visible_villain

 

Aren't those just from jet planes? I'm confused. I don't see that and I'm in Michigan.

If I know VV

He's saying that those contrails are chemtrails

reply to post by OzWeatherman


OOPs, I get that now, thanks for clearing that up. I had heard that jet planes do effect the weather and can make it cooler than it would be otherwise.

Central Texas here. I have lived in Texas for the majority of my life and I have to say I agree with the OP. The last 3 years we have received snow during the December months which I have never seen in my 17 years living here. We also got some late February 2 years ago. I wouldn't say it's alarming for me because I enjoy snow quite a lot and i'm hoping for quite a bit more.

Originally posted by OzWeatherman

Originally posted by Chemley
Do you remember the last time that your local meteorologist showed you the jet stream? Thought not.

Ummmm...

You know what I do for a living right? If you want to see where the jetstream is, I will show you....

As a matter of fact, the very reason for the Cooler than Average Summer in the Northern tier of the United States has to do with the fact that we are facing a late Spring. The Jet Stream is currently riding around over the middle half of the United States, when typically this time of year it maintains a presence in the Northern States.

reply to post by aleon1018

Originally posted by aleon1018
reply to post by visible_villain

 

Aren't those just from jet planes? I'm confused. I don't see that and I'm in Michigan.

It's ok - we're all confused ...

You know where I am, and you know where you are ( I assume ... ), just what are you confused about ?

reply to post by TheAgentNineteen


Yep, that would make perfect sense

The jetstream location is available online by the way, so chemley, yes meteorologists do show you where the jetstream is

Originally posted by serenesupreme
Central Texas here. I have lived in Texas for the majority of my life and I have to say I agree with the OP. The last 3 years we have received snow during the December months which I have never seen in my 17 years living here. We also got some late February 2 years ago. I wouldn't say it's alarming for me because I enjoy snow quite a lot and i'm hoping for quite a bit more.

LOL, you sound like me. I live in the Washington, D.C. Metro area, which as some may know is in the volatile Mid-Atlantic region (i.e., Our weather can vary tremendously from day to day at times). This past winter we had a week-and-a-half straight where the Temperatures never rose above freezing, and the first day in fact our Hi Temperature was about 15 Degrees Fahrenheit, and our Lo managed to find itself around 5 Degrees Fahrenheit, with a Wind Chill of -10 Below Zero (Fahrenheit). It happens to be a damp cold around here too, so you REALLY feel it. The last time I can remember such temperatures was back when I was a kid in the late 1980's into the early 1990's.

Also, NOAA made a big deal about us being below average for Winter Precipitation, then on the 1st of March we made up our entire Winter Precipitation Average in one day lol. We had nearly One Foot of Snow, and some Ice later on (Due to Re-freezing). I love the Snow though, so no complaints from me. As a matter of fact, I look forward to a "Blizzard of 1993/1996" repeat where we received nearly Four Feet of Snow during each occurrence.