an uncanny otter Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 A few things come to mind when I think of the weather here in 2011: -We had our snowiest February ever, and one of the snowiest months on record. Official total was 35.6" at Windsor airport, slightly less imby. February was an amazing month for winter weather in general with four major snowstorms, and had even the hardiest people around here wondered when it would be over. It culminated on February 7th when our snow depth was 20". -2011 had the wettest meteorological spring on record here as well. From March 1st to May 31st, we had 18" of precipitation which, combined with saturated ground, made life miserable for farmers. Constant downpours made flooding a serious issue for many, and delayed planting for weeks. The wettest day of 2011 was on May 25th, when I recorded 3.8" of rain in just a couple of hours because of three rounds of thunderstorms. It was the first time I've witnessed flash flooding since the remnants of Ike passed through in September 2008. -July 2011 was the hottest month on record here, and possibly the warmest in Canadian history as well. The average daytime high was 87.8*F, which is remarkable for this area. The heat was relentless for weeks on end, with only a few days of bearable temperatures scattered in between. The heatwave culminated on July 21st, when the temperature at Windsor airport reached 100*F (with the humidity making it feel like 120*F.) The heat was so intense that Environment Canada issued a weather warning for it, the first time I've ever remembered them doing so. -2011 was an extremely active year for thunderstorms. On the morning of June 7th, we were hit with a surprise MCS which gave us 1" hail, the first time we've had hail in years. I was at DTW for the storms on July 2nd, which were particularly memorable for me as it caused me to miss a flight and get stranded in Los Angeles for a day. But the best thunderstorm of the year was on August 24th, probably for the sheer amount of hype it received. Tornado watches and warnings were issued for the entirety of southern Ontario, even though only three tornadoes ended up touching down. It was also the best lightning storm I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing - nonstop flashing for hours. -I'm not sure how Fall 2011 ranks in the record books here, but we had reached our wettest year on record by the end of October. The most memorable rainstorm occurred on November 29th, when 3.4" of rain fell at Windsor. It caused some of the worst flooding I've ever seen, turning nearly every field into a lake , and our backyard had half a foot of standing water in it, which has never happened before. From September 1st to November 30th, Windsor recorded 20.6" of rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerball Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 lol...shows you how its different strokes for different folks. I dont know how one of the snowiest months on record is run-of-the-mill, lol, but then again, I have NO idea what May 23 or May 25 is. Was it a bad storm iyby? ************************8 Though I should add to my post the seasonal accomplishments at Detroit are VERY impressive, when you consider records go back 141 years. 5th snowiest winter on record (69.1") 2nd wettest spring on record (14.60") 4th hottest summer on record 1st wettest fall on record (14.42") May 25th was summed up by an uncanny otter pretty well, May 23rd was just "unique", because what took place rarely happens. It was the perfect summer day for me (three roudns of strong/severe storms, with plenty of sun in between them and temps in the 80s). And yeah, for me persoanlly, the end still doesn't justify the means. It's how we reached those records that mattered. Sort of like how I felt about 2010's summer. As for February, it was one of the snowiest Februaries on record, but nothing spectacular happened per event that month locally, at least that we never saw before, to get us there (now if we're talking regionally, then it's a different story). Same for the fall rainfall. Mostly just constant stratiform rains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michsnowfreak Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 May 25th was summed up by an uncanny otter pretty well, May 23rd was just "unique", because what took place rarely happens. It was the perfect summer day for me (three roudns of strong/severe storms, with plenty of sun in between them and temps in the 80s). And yeah, for me persoanlly, the end still doesn't justify the means. It's how we reached those records that mattered. Sort of like how I felt about 2010's summer. As for February, it was one of the snowiest Februaries on record, but nothing spectacular happened per event that month locally, at least that we never saw before, to get us there (now if we're talking regionally, then it's a different story). Same for the fall rainfall. Mostly just constant stratiform rains. Id say the thunderstorms in the heavy snow on the 20th was pretty rare. Its VERY rare to see "Thunderstorms, Heavy Snow, visib 0.1 miles" in the top of the hour observation. Plus a bust like that (getting 10.2", forecast 1-3") is also very rare. Also rare is the fact that only 3 times before 2011 had two 8"+ storms happened in Feb (and only once two 10"+ storms). Same with the rain, no we never saw the all-time highest rainstorm, but to see numerous 2-4" rainstorms in one year is VERY rare here. But as I said, im not knocking your opinion, thats really what a thread like this is, what stands out to you personally. I honestly still have ZERO recollection of May 23 or May 25th, I even looked at my weather log (I write highlights for each 2-week period) and I wrote NOTHING about the May 23 or 25th, other than "temps well above normal 22/23rd and well below normal 25-27th". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michsnowfreak Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Would like to add something else to my list LOL. I will have to re-edit it as one post at the end of the year to look more tidy. Never before had I seen CLOSE to this many 1"+ precip events in a year. Usually you see a handful. In 2011 I saw 16!... 1.13” – Feb 20/21 (10.2” snow) 1.08” – Feb 27/28 (T snow) 1.40” – Mar 4-6 (4.7” snow) 1.31” – May 15/16 1.85” – May 25 2.30” – July 2 3.20” – July 27/28 1.43” – Aug 8/9 1.30” – Sep 7/8 1.00” – Sept 10 1.26” – Sept 19 1.05” – Sept 26 1.44” – Oct 18/19 2.13” – Nov 22/23 3.77” – Nov 28-30 (0.6” snow) 1.11” – Dec 4/5 (2.4” snow) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Storm Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 January: -Driest month of the year with 0.83" -Coldest month of the year with an average temp of 21.6F Jan. 21st - Coldest high temp of the year at 9F Jan. 31-Feb. 2nd - GHD blizzard. 18.9" fell...The event featured +TSSN and a max wind gust of 57mph. February - Snowiest month of the year with 23.5" Feb. 10th - Coldest low temp of the year at -7F April 18th - Last trace and measurable snowfall of the '10/11 season with 0.7" April 24th - Last freeze of the '10/11 season at 29F June 21st - Severe storms, which featured a 60mph wind gust. June 16-July 21st - Dry conditions, with only 0.84" of precip during this 36 day period. July: -Warmest month of the year with an average temp of 78.7F -30/31 days had high temps of 80+ (13 of which were 90+) -29/31 days had a low temp of 60+ (15 of which were 70+) July 11th - Derecho, which featured a 60mph wind gust. Mid-Late July Heatwave: July 18th - Warmest min temp of the year at 79F July 19th - 80F dew point July 20th - Max heat index of 113F July 20th & 21st - Hottest temp of the year at 98F July 23rd - Wettest calender day of the year with 2.51" August - Wettest month of the year with 6.67" Aug. 2nd - Severe storms, which featured a 65mph wind gust. Sep. 13th - Smoke from the MN wildfire affected the area. Oct. 30th - First freeze of the '11/12 season at 31F November - A very windy month, which featured an average wind speed of 23.6mph and 3 days with a max wind gust of 45mph. Nov. 10th - First trace and measurable snowfall for the '11/12 snowfall season. 0.2" fell with period of +TSSN and graupel also having occured. Other notes... -Days with sub-zero temps: 3 -90+ days: 24 -Days with 70+ lows: 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowMeHunter Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 January: -Driest month of the year with 0.83" -Coldest month of the year with an average temp of 21.6F Jan. 21st - Coldest high temp of the year at 9F Jan. 31-Feb. 2nd - GHD blizzard. 18.9" fell...The event featured +TSSN and a max wind gust of 57mph. February - Snowiest month of the year with 23.5" Feb. 10th - Coldest low temp of the year at -7F April 18th - Last trace and measurable snowfall of the '10/11 season with 0.7" April 24th - Last freeze of the '10/11 season at 29F June 21st - Severe storms, which featured a 60mph wind gust. July: -Warmest month of the year with an average temp of 78.7F -30/31 days had high temps of 80+ (13 of which were 90+) -29/31 days had a low temp of 60+ (15 of which were 70+) July 11th - Derecho, which featured a 60mph wind gust. Mid-Late July Heatwave: July 18th - Warmest min temp of the year at 79F July 19th - 80F dew point July 20th - Max heat index of 113F July 20th & 21st - Hottest temp of the year at 98F July 23rd - Wettest calender day of the year with 2.51" August - Wettest month of the year with 6.67" Aug. 2nd - Severe storms, which featured a 65mph wind gust. Sep. 13th - Smoke from the MN wildfire affected the area. Oct. 30th - First freeze of the '11/12 season at 31F November - A very windy month, which featured an average wind speed of 23.6mph and 3 days with a max wind gust of 45mph. Nov. 10th - First trace and measurable snowfall for the '11/12 snowfall season. 0.2" fell with period of +TSSN and graupel also having occured. Other notes... -Days with sub-zero temps: 3 -90+ days: 24 -Days with 70+ lows: 21 C is for cookies and the grade for severe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisconsinwx Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 C is for cookies and the grade for severe Here that is the case but I can't speak for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Storm Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Top weather events of 2011 for the LOT CWA... http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=lot&storyid=76907&source=0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 IWX: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/?n=2011inreview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KokomoWX Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Probably the most notable day for many (but not locally). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Storm Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 2011 climate summary for Chicago/ORD... http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=lot&storyid=76963&source=0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoar_Frost Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I measured 43.61 inches of liquid-equivalent precipitation in my backyard in 2011. I believe this is the sixth year in a row of above-normal annual precipitation (which is around 36 inches here). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geos Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 2011 was a wet one here: 49.4" of liquid - about 12" above average. Violent winds with thunderstorms were noteworthy this year and the GHD storm were the highlights! 0.54° above the 30 year average in temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michsnowfreak Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 2011 will definitely have its place in Detroits weather record books! 5th snowiest winter on record (69.1") 2nd wettest spring on record (14.60") 4th hottest summer on record 1st wettest fall on record (14.42") Wettest calendar year on record (47.70") 8th snowiest calendar year on record (66.1") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Storm Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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