WEST MICHIGAN (March 30, 2014) — No sense in asking “are we ready for the warmth” because I know all of us are. Temperatures made the upper 40s/low 50s across the area on Sunday with plenty of sunshine. If that wasn’t warm enough, more sunshine along with increasing winds will push temperatures to 60 degrees or better on Monday…but it will be brief!
The warmer temperatures won’t come without an increased chance for precipitation. I’m expecting light rain to develop Monday night and continue in to Tuesday morning before mixing with/changing to some light snow showers Tuesday as temperatures fall. Not to worry…no accumulation is expected!
I was asked at church today “just how far below normal have we been the past several months with this brutal winter we’ve experienced?” Here’s the answer: (stats are for Grand Rapids)
It all started in November when we saw temperatures -2.3 degrees below normal for the month. December ended up -3.1 degrees below normal. January finished with -6.3 degrees below normal. February eclipsed that at -9.1 degrees below normal, and the official numbers won’t be available until after March ends but currently we’re sitting at -9.8 degrees below normal for the month. That will be skewed lower after we average the high temperature from both Sunday and Monday this week.
All of these numbers are obtained from taking the high/low temperatures for each month and averaging them out. It’s then compared to a 30 year data average. It’s almost normal or expected to be a degree or two off higher or lower, but to see the data five to almost 10 degrees below normal is absolutely incredible. It tells us or quantifies how cold we’ve actually been the last several months.
While temperatures early on Tuesday will be hanging around 50 degrees before the cold front goes through, a majority of the remainder of the week will only be in the 40s with several chances for rain, snow, or an icy mix of precipitation like freezing rain or sleet. In short, this week will be more on the active side.
The attached photo was submitted by FOX 17 viewer Bill Beatty. It was snapped on Sunday off the Muskegon pier. Much of that ice will be melting this week!
At least the Detroit Tigers will have one of the more mild home openers for the start of their season tomorrow (Monday). The West Michigan Whitecaps open their season on April 8. Get the complete West Michigan forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
