WEST MICHIGAN — It always seems as if it takes summer a long time to arrive in Michigan every year. Unfortunately when it finally does get here, most of us probably don’t want to hear that temperatures will be at/below normal, especially during what is traditionally one of the hottest months of the year.
Remember…I’m just the messenger, but I can tell all of you that the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is forecasting temperatures to remain at/below normal over the next month or so. These are the folks that are part of the National Weather Service that are specialists at long-range forecasting. They look at trends, upper air patterns, the jet stream, and what’s happening on a global perspective and how it will/will not influence the United States.
You can see their six to 10 day outlook for temperatures here.Notice the blue across the Great Lakes with a 60 to 70 percent chance of the likelihood of below normal temps occurring.
The eight to 14 day temperature outlook can be found here. Clearly the highest probability of cold temps and bullseye is directly over the Great Lakes.
And hereis the one month temperature outlook for the United States. While the outlook for below normal temps isn’t as great here, it still remains likely that no true summertime heat is on the way. By the way…all of these maps are also indicate fairly dry conditions over the next several weeks as well.
As an avid boater and beachgoer, I certainly hope we see temps rebound well in to the mid/upper 80s at least a few more times this summer, but remember the angle of the sun continues to dwindle as does the actual length of our days (yes they’re getting shorter). We may actually have a cooler than normal August, then rebound like we did a couple of years ago with a September much above normal.
At any rate, I hear the Michigan apple crop will be much better this year. Growers on the ridge (in Kent County) tell me they may be looking at a record crop. Nice to hear after last year’s loss. They say the trees “set” great this year (that means they pollinated nicely) and should result in an abundant crop, lower prices, and ample supply.
First things first! Lets enjoy summer, then worry about fall, cooler weather, and apple cider mills. Get the FOX 17 West Michigan forecast by going to www.fox17online.com/weather.
