Winter of 2019-20 IN PICTURES - Southeast Michigan

[michsnowfreak]

Ive been doing this 2003 on weather boards. In the boards hey day it was quite a popular post lol. I still like to do one every year.

 

Winter 2019-20 saw 43.8" of snow imby. DTW had 43.7". After Detroit saw the largest November snowstorm on record, the earliest single digit temp on record, and the 13th coldest November on record, we followed with the 9th warmest winter on record, and then frequent snow and near record cold in mid-late April and again, of all things, in early-mid May. Overall a winter of frustration but not without several good snowstorms and in the end, average snowfall. Three decent storms hit (8.8", 7.0", and 5.7") and much of the seasons snow had a high water content, with the only true period of fluffy snow being in early Feb.

October 2019 - Trace of snow

Wind-driven rain turned to snow Halloween night, with no accumulation.

 

November 2019 - 9.1" of snow

The first half of Nov was the 2nd coldest on record, behind only 1880, and saw a 9.2" snowstorm on Nov 11-12 become the largest Nov snowstorm on record for Detroit (old record 9.0"). I saw 8.8" with that storm. The scenes were surreal with some trees clinging to late color. A record low of 7F on the 13th was the earliest single digit low on record, and a solid blanket of snow remained on the ground for 9 days, fully melting on the 12th day.

11-7-19 heavy snow squalls drop 0.2", the first measurable snow of the season

 

11-11-19 heavy snow drops an unprecedented amount of snow for so early in the season

 

 

 

11-12-19 - beautiful scenes and record cold follow snowstorm which dumped 8.8" of snow imby and 9.2" at Detroit,

 

11-14-19 a light dusting of snow falls but the deep winter wonderland is still in place with record mid-Nov cold

 

11-16-19 still plenty of snow in place for the Wyandotte Christmas parade. The ground would go bare Nov 21.

[michsnowfreak]

December 2019 - 2.6" of snow

Nov and Dec apparently switched this year. December saw only a few very light snowfalls, in fact, half of the 2.6" fell New Years Eve (not pictured). It ended up being the 18th warmest December on record. In contrast to Novembers cold, December was only 0.7F colder than November. On average, December is 11.4F colder.

12-10-19 snow showers dusted the ground ahead of a quick cold snap

 

12-18-19 overnight snow showers dropped just under half an inch of powder

 

January 2020 - 10.0" of snow

The 12th warmest January on record did feature a few robust storms, including the largest January rainstorm on record (2 months to the day of the largest November snowstorm) and a snowstorm on the 18th. The month was steadily mild, but with no real warmth, and no cold lows (the coldest being 13F).

 

1-8-20 a 1" snowfall on the 7/8th was followed the next night by a starry night

 

1-12-20 a record Jan rainstorm (2.56") that began late on the 10th ended early on the 12th as 0.3" snow. The rain flash froze and everything was very icy

 

1-18-19 A heavy snowstorm dropped a quick 7" of snow before ending as rain. The snow froze up the next night. Total precip of the storm was 0.93"

 

1-19-20 a gray cold day, the snow which had been compacted froze up into a dense white crust

 

1-21-20 a bright winter day. These would be the last minutes of sun we would see until February

 

1-31-20 mild weather the last week of the month slowly melted the snow. This was the 10th day in a row of dark gray overcast

[michsnowfreak]

February 2020 - 14.9" of snow

While Feb was also a mild month, it did not place in the top 20. Also, numerous snowfalls were seen. From Feb 5-13th, 7 of the 9 days saw measurable snowfall, a parade of sorts, but despite a total fall of 8.2" in those 9 days, the depth never exceeded 4". The most potent snowstorm of the month hit on Feb 26th

 

2-6-20 waking up to a fresh 2" of sugary snow

 

2-7-20 snow showers took a break for some sun, with a fresh 3-inch blanket of white

 

2-9-20 a heavy band of snow moved through during the evening, dropping just under 2" of snow in 3 hours

 

2-13-20 after much of the 2-3" snowpack that had been in place for the past week melted, a fresh 2" accompanied a pre-Valentines arctic front

 

2-14-20 a frigid low of 4F finally dethroned the 7F on Nov 13th as coldest of the winter, but those would remain the only two single digit readings this season, a far cry from last winter

 

2-26-20 a late Feb snowstorm drops 5.7" of snow. The snow started wet and plastering, but ended as the driftiest snow of the season

 

2-27-20 winter wonderland after 5.7" snowfall

 

March 2020 - 1.8" of snow

March was the 15th warmest March on record (so to recap 13th coldest Nov, 18th warmest Dec, 12th warmest Jan, 15th warmest Mar) and the only measurable snowfall was on the 22nd/23rd.

 

3-1-20 still a good drifty snowpack left, but it melted rapidly during the afternoon

 

3-22-20 very scenic wet snow

 

3-23-20 melting of the previous nights 1.8" snowfall was well underway when a burst of huge snowflakes fell

 

 

 

[michsnowfreak]

I would be remiss if I didnt update this post lol.

Im ASSUMING snow is done, first flakes on Oct 31st and last on Apr 22nd....an average snow season in the end which came about ANY way but average. Flakes should resume flying in 6 months.

April 2020 - 4.7" of snow

April ensured that the 2019-20 cold season ended the way it began - colder and wintrier than average. Snow fell on 8 days between the 9th and 22nd, and Detroits 4.7" after Apr 14th was the 4th highest total snow on record for so late in the season.

4-15-20 - gorgeous scenes during a 1.4" snowfall, mid-April or not

 

4-17-20 very heavy snow fell at the rate of 1-2"/hr for a time during the morning. The 3.3-inch fall caused very unusual scenes for so late

 

4-18-20 morning temps in the 20s caused the remaining snowcover to be frozen solid during the morning, gone by afternoon

 

4-22-20 snowflakes resting on my jacket, todays high of 38F was record cold, and snow fell off and on but didnt accumulate.

 

And lastly...I give you Autumn and Spring in Michigan

[bowtie`]

OK, that November shot would be perfect if not for those electrical wires Two shutters up for that shot

[cyclone77]

30 minutes ago, bowtie` said:

OK, that November shot would be perfect if not for those electrical wires Two shutters up for that shot

With some work you could clone those out in Photoshop/Lightroom if you shot in raw format.

[michsnowfreak]

10 hours ago, bowtie` said:

OK, that November shot would be perfect if not for those electrical wires Two shutters up for that shot

Good catch! I didn't even notice. I would agree, though I guess the wires give it a natural suburban look lol. One of my favorite pictures is the one below it (on the November post) of the footprints in the snow leading up to the conifer, because it shows how deep the snow was for so early in the season. However while it was certainly past peak color, there was still an unusual amount of scattered color remaining and that, combined with the fresh snow and blue skies, made for some amazing scenes. 

[TugHillMatt]

On 4/25/2020 at 8:01 AM, michsnowfreak said:

Good catch! I didn't even notice. I would agree, though I guess the wires give it a natural suburban look lol. One of my favorite pictures is the one below it (on the November post) of the footprints in the snow leading up to the conifer, because it shows how deep the snow was for so early in the season. However while it was certainly past peak color, there was still an unusual amount of scattered color remaining and that, combined with the fresh snow and blue skies, made for some amazing scenes. 

I love your photo journals for the seasons. Thanks for sharing!

[RogueWaves]

Quote

The first half of Nov was the 2nd coldest on record, behind only 1880

So, we have the much debated issue of a cold November = a crappy winter (here in SMI anyways) on display in your post. This winter went on to be a mild and "non-historic" season. But, every once and again, a cold November like 1880 does lead into an historically cold and snowy winter. I just think the odds of the mild playing out are about 9:1 in favor, lol.

Btw, for a winter that never seemed to gain traction, I did end up with (66) days of snow cover total when stretched from Nov 11th to April 17th. But like you said, it was an unsatisfying way to get to an average snow season. Ended at 97% here. (I consider +/- 5% of average to be in the "normal" range). 

Great photo collection - thanks for doing this thread!  

[michsnowfreak]

5 hours ago, RogueWaves said:

So, we have the much debated issue of a cold November = a crappy winter (here in SMI anyways) on display in your post. This winter went on to be a mild and "non-historic" season. But, every once and again, a cold November like 1880 does lead into an historically cold and snowy winter. I just think the odds of the mild playing out are about 9:1 in favor, lol.

Btw, for a winter that never seemed to gain traction, I did end up with (66) days of snow cover total when stretched from Nov 11th to April 17th. But like you said, it was an unsatisfying way to get to an average snow season. Ended at 97% here. (I consider +/- 5% of average to be in the "normal" range). 

Great photo collection - thanks for doing this thread!  

Thanks! I like doing it to, it really recaps the season. The November thing is interesting but there till does not seem to be a decisive trend. November 2013 was cold and of course a historically harsh Winter followed. November 2014 was also cold and despite a mild December it was another cold November followed by cold Winter. Maybe it's just magnified to us snow weenies when Winter hits hard early and it ends up being a fake out. This cold and snow season was certainly stretched to the Max in terms of time, which is why in the end the numbers do not look bad. Snowcover was still a bit below avg at Detroit but not terribly so. Total snowfall is actually 0.5" above avg. 

 

If La Nina develops this summer, perhaps a snowy winter for 2020-21. While seasonal predictions are nothing but a crapshoot, La Nina winters definitely favor a trend of above avg precipitation. 

[MIstorm97]

On 4/24/2020 at 5:16 PM, michsnowfreak said:

I would be remiss if I didnt update this post lol.

Im ASSUMING snow is done, first flakes on Oct 31st and last on Apr 22nd....an average snow season in the end which came about ANY way but average. Flakes should resume flying in 6 months.

May decided that was just unacceptable. Time to update this thread again

[michsnowfreak]

On ‎5‎/‎12‎/‎2020 at 3:17 AM, MIstorm97 said:

May decided that was just unacceptable. Time to update this thread again

It certainly did! Definitely need to update....now I feel safe in saying the 2019-20 snow season is a wrap....I think . Flakes will resume flying in perhaps just 5 short months.

 

May 2020 - 0.7" of snow

A cold May brought a very memorable, record-breaking cold snap during the 2nd week of the month. At Detroit, snowflakes fell on 5 consecutive days (May 8-12), a feat never before seen. Any snow in May is rare, let alone on 5 days. In addition to record low temps, a burst of heavy snow late in the evening on Mother's Day left Detroit with 0.5" of snow, making it the heaviest May snow in 97 years, the 3rd latest measurable snow on record, and the 4th snowiest May on record. This also made 2019-20 the "longest" snow season from first to last measurable snow (Nov 7 - May 10).

 

5-8-20 snow flurries and snow showers fell off and on all day, a first for my birthday

 

5-10-20 Rain developed late on Mothers Day, suddenly turning to heavy wet snow around 11pm. It was unlike Id anything Id ever seen in May, and almost mid-May to boot

 

5-11-20 while the snow was gone by sunrise, May 11th did begin a winter wonderland. I measured 0.7", with 0.5" at DTW, and up to 2" NE of Detroit

 

Third times the charm lol...

WINTER TOTAL SNOWFALL (Wyandotte, MI)

2019-20: 43.8"

2018-19: 31.9"

2017-18: 62.5"

2016-17: 41.6"

2015-16: 35.0"

2014-15: 48.5"

2013-14: 96.2"

2012-13: 47.9"

2011-12: 25.5"

2010-11: 69.4"

2009-10: 46.1"

2008-09: 64.8"

2007-08: 78.2"

2006-07: 36.6"

2005-06: 41.9"

2004-05: 80.7"

2003-04: 36.6"

2002-03: 66.9"

2001-02: 42.5"

2000-01: 47.3"

1999-00: 29.3"

1998-99: 52.1"

1997-98: 27.2"

1996-97: 35.9"

1995-96: 31.3"