March 2022 General Discussion

[Brian D]

1 hour ago, weatherbo said:

 No one living up here expects Spring in March.  You get use to it.

A cold winter was had up this way, for sure.  It has only been above freezing here one time since Christmas eve when I recorded 33 degrees and the forecast doesn't have a temp above freezing for at least the next seven days, although that can change quick this time of the year.  Average high/low for March 3rd is 30/10... still solid winter climo.

March is similar to mid Nov-mid Dec climo. 30/12 to start the month is normal here, too, along with higher avg snowfall than mid winter, ending with 42/24 by April Fool's Day.

[weatherbo]

18 minutes ago, Brian D said:

March is similar to mid Nov-mid Dec climo. 30/12 to start the month is normal here, too, along with higher avg snowfall than mid winter, ending with 42/24 by April Fool's Day.

I don't enjoy March like I do Nov- mid December tho.  At this point in the season the novelty of having snow has dwindled and the desire for warmer weather starts to kick in, as well as the higher sun angle being noticeable.

April 1st norms here are 40/21, and some of the bigger snows I've seen the past 8 years have been in April.  

A notable storm was April 14-15 2018 when 32" fell over a 48 hour period.

[Brian D]

20 minutes ago, weatherbo said:

I don't enjoy March like I do Nov- mid December tho.  At this point in the season the novelty of having snow has dwindled and the desire for warmer weather starts to kick in, as well as the higher sun angle being noticeable.

April 1st norms here are 40/21, and some of the bigger snows I've seen the past 8 years have been in April.  

A notable storm was April 14-15 2018 when 32" fell over a 48 hour period.

The snowiest April in recent memory here was 2013, with 27" here in town, and 52" at the 7NW site away from the Lake. It snowed 2-3 times a week in 2 weeks. That winter was mild with little snow, but between March, and especially April, we made up for it. Cold Spring that year.

That April storm in 2018 only put down 7-8" around here, so you really got hammered.

[weatherbo]

22 minutes ago, Brian D said:

The snowiest April in recent memory here was 2013, with 27" here in town, and 52" at the 7NW site away from the Lake. It snowed 2-3 times a week in 2 weeks. That winter was mild with little snow, but between March, and especially April, we made up for it. Cold Spring that year.

That April storm in 2018 only put down 7-8" around here, so you really got hammered.

I remember the storm very well.  I was coming home from visiting Indiana and arrived at 1 am on the 15th and could barely make it down my road and not up my drive at all.  There was 30" of glacier snow otg beforehand and 50 ish inches when all was said and done.  It was a heavy/wet snow too.

 

EDIT-  I grabbed both of these pics from the storm thread here on the board.  Apparently I posted that it had snowed 28-30" in a 53 hour period.

This was the view from inside looking out.  I posted this same pic back then.

 

[Lightning]

4 hours ago, Brian D said:

March is similar to mid Nov-mid Dec climo. 30/12 to start the month is normal here, too, along with higher avg snowfall than mid winter, ending with 42/24 by April Fool's Day.

 

3 hours ago, weatherbo said:

I don't enjoy March like I do Nov- mid December tho.  At this point in the season the novelty of having snow has dwindled and the desire for warmer weather starts to kick in, as well as the higher sun angle being noticeable.

April 1st norms here are 40/21, and some of the bigger snows I've seen the past 8 years have been in April.  

A notable storm was April 14-15 2018 when 32" fell over a 48 hour period.

When I lived in the Keweenaw March was such a great cross country ski month. I considered March a full winter month too.  It was April when I was done with winter.  You would start losing all the snow and then that April some would come and put 1/2 of it back on the ground.  I recall May10th, 1990 snow that cancelled Summer classes at NMU (first time ever NMU cancelled summer classes due to snow).   

[cyclone77]

RGEM says get the suntan oil ready cause we're heading to the pool on Saturday. 

 

[weatherbo]

3 hours ago, Lightning said:

 

When I lived in the Keweenaw March was such a great cross country ski month. I considered March a full winter month too.  It was April when I was done with winter.  You would start losing all the snow and then that April some would come and put 1/2 of it back on the ground.  I recall May10th, 1990 snow that cancelled Summer classes at NMU (first time ever NMU cancelled summer classes due to snow).   

April can suck it.  My least fav month and it's not even close.

[OrdIowPitMsp]

Pretty amazing temperature contrast between Minneapolis and Des Moines this week. 20s and 30s here, mid 60s there, its a 3.5 hour drive between the cities. 
 

Looks like we might get some accumulating snow behind the low this weekend. Hopefully the rain/storms don’t wash away all of our glacier, I’d like the snow pack longevity streak to continue.

[Brian D]

2 hours ago, weatherbo said:

April can suck it.  My least fav month and it's not even close.

Mud month, with very changeable temps. Nice warm weather, then snows, or cold rains. Agree with you on that one. May is the real spring month.

[cyclone77]

Wind advisory criteria looks possible over northern IL Sat evening ahead of the incoming CF.  Many models show gusts over 40mph.  3km NAM has 50-60kts at the top of the mixed layer immediately behind the front over the DVN cwa later Sat evening, so 50mph gusts behind the front look possible as well.  

[Lightning]

7 hours ago, Brian D said:

Mud month, with very changeable temps. Nice warm weather, then snows, or cold rains. Agree with you on that one. May is the real spring month.

Mud month is where we are right now here.  It has been horrible the past week.  We still have many area of snow and ice (plus all the snow mounds).  I live on dirt roads and this has been one extremely muddy week.  Looking forward to the 60 degrees expected late Saturday and into Sunday to do it's best to melt most of it away!!

[Brian D]

DLH keeping their thinking pretty much the same as yesterday. Very messy, and ugly, especially for E MN/N WI/U.P. areas. 

[Brian D]

2 hours ago, Lightning said:

Mud month is where we are right now here.  It has been horrible the past week.  We still have many area of snow and ice (plus all the snow mounds).  I live on dirt roads and this has been one extremely muddy week.  Looking forward to the 60 degrees expected late Saturday and into Sunday to do it's best to melt most of it away!!

Once thawing hits its stride around here, road bans go up for heavy trucks. Weight limits are put into effect, as frost leaving the ground softens it for a time. The weight limits help prevent damage during this vulnerable time. April is such a down time with really no outdoor activity feasible (hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, gardening, etc), besides the shitty wx. The only thing that does happen is stream fishing along the shore as the trout/smelt spawn gears up. May is when things get going for the warmer season activities. So I definitely double down on "April sux" meme. 

[michsnowfreak]

The cold snap coming next weekend looks legit. Will be interesting to see if any good snow can precede it

[Lightning]

12 minutes ago, michsnowfreak said:

The cold snap coming next weekend looks legit. Will be interesting to see if any good snow can precede it

Looks like a lot of potential.  Maybe we can shake that boring March wx syndrome we have had in recent years. 

[Hoosier]

Will be watching to see if ORD can tag 70 tomorrow, as it's going to be the only shot for a while based on how things look in the extended.

The first 70 has not happened until April for the last 4 years.

[madwx]

42 minutes ago, michsnowfreak said:

The cold snap coming next weekend looks legit. Will be interesting to see if any good snow can precede it

Ensembles are backing off on the intensity of the cold snap.  Also looks to be fairly short lived

[Jonger]

23 hours ago, weatherbo said:

I remember the storm very well.  I was coming home from visiting Indiana and arrived at 1 am on the 15th and could barely make it down my road and not up my drive at all.  There was 30" of glacier snow otg beforehand and 50 ish inches when all was said and done.  It was a heavy/wet snow too.

 

EDIT-  I grabbed both of these pics from the storm thread here on the board.  Apparently I posted that it had snowed 28-30" in a 53 hour period.

This was the view from inside looking out.  I posted this same pic back then.

 

Trails are closed March 31st. Can't do much with April snow.

 

[michsnowfreak]

2 hours ago, madwx said:

Ensembles are backing off on the intensity of the cold snap.  Also looks to be fairly short lived

Not sure about backing off. I hadnt looked closely at the exact numbers in recent days but centered around Sat-Sun Mar 12-13 are very impressive cold anomalies on all the ensemble means. Thereafter intensity certainly wears off but generally colder than average looks to continue through the end of the ensemble runs.

[Brian D]

Ice over Lake Superior at higher levels today, but with the storm system moving through, that will diminish quite a bit, as there is quite a bit of new, very thin ice out there. Along with ice piling up with the stronger NE over to NW winds.

[Iceresistance]

Ice Storm Warning for Western Upper Michigan

[wishforsnow]

Ice storm warning issued for NW UP. I know what they are like. I been through plenty of them in Iowa. I remember when I was 4 years old had a bad ice storm knocking out the power for two weeks. We slept in one room bundled up under covers to stay warm. Dad had a propane heater he would turn on to warm the room up and turn it back off to conserve gas plus not gassing us to death.

[Brian D]

Nasty stuff! Weatherbo in line for the ugliest weather up here.

Keweenaw-Ontonagon-Northern Houghton-Baraga-Marquette-Gogebic-
Iron-Southern Houghton-
Including the cities of Copper Harbor, Ontonagon, Houghton,
Hancock, L`Anse, Gwinn, Marquette, Ironwood, Iron River, Kenton,
and Sidnaw
348 PM EST Fri Mar 4 2022 /248 PM CST Fri Mar 4 2022/

...ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM EST /MIDNIGHT CST/
SATURDAY TO 7 AM EST /6 AM CST/ SUNDAY...

* WHAT...Significant icing expected. Total ice accumulations of
  one quarter to one half of an inch with localized heavier
  accumulations. Also, snow accumulations of up to two inches.

* WHERE...Portions of central Upper and western Upper Michigan.

* WHEN...From 1 AM EST /midnight CST/ Saturday to 7 AM EST /6 AM
  CST/ Sunday.

* IMPACTS...Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the
  ice. Travel could be nearly impossible.

[weatherbo]

55 minutes ago, Brian D said:

Nasty stuff! Weatherbo in line for the ugliest weather up here.

Keweenaw-Ontonagon-Northern Houghton-Baraga-Marquette-Gogebic-
Iron-Southern Houghton-
Including the cities of Copper Harbor, Ontonagon, Houghton,
Hancock, L`Anse, Gwinn, Marquette, Ironwood, Iron River, Kenton,
and Sidnaw
348 PM EST Fri Mar 4 2022 /248 PM CST Fri Mar 4 2022/

...ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM EST /MIDNIGHT CST/
SATURDAY TO 7 AM EST /6 AM CST/ SUNDAY...

* WHAT...Significant icing expected. Total ice accumulations of
  one quarter to one half of an inch with localized heavier
  accumulations. Also, snow accumulations of up to two inches.

* WHERE...Portions of central Upper and western Upper Michigan.

* WHEN...From 1 AM EST /midnight CST/ Saturday to 7 AM EST /6 AM
  CST/ Sunday.

* IMPACTS...Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the
  ice. Travel could be nearly impossible.

For once, I hope "localized heavier accumulations" does not imply mby. 

If there is a power outage I have a genny that will keep essentials running and a wood stove, so I should be fine. 

 

 

[weatherbo]

1 hour ago, wishforsnow said:

Ice storm warning issued for NW UP. I know what they are like. I been through plenty of them in Iowa. I remember when I was 4 years old had a bad ice storm knocking out the power for two weeks. We slept in one room bundled up under covers to stay warm. Dad had a propane heater he would turn on to warm the room up and turn it back off to conserve gas plus not gassing us to death.

There was a terrible ice-storm here February of 2019.  

[Iceresistance]

2 minutes ago, weatherbo said:

There was a terrible ice-storm here February of 2019.  

October 2020 for my area was one of the worst.

[weatherbo]

2 minutes ago, Iceresistance said:

October 2020 for my area was one of the worst.

https://www.weather.gov/mqt/February4th2019IceStorm

[Hoosier]

11 minutes ago, Iceresistance said:

October 2020 for my area was one of the worst.

What good is your screen name if you can't resist the ice?

[Iceresistance]

18 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

What good is your screen name if you can't resist the ice?

I never lost power, I gave the power Ice Resistance.

[Iceresistance]

28 minutes ago, weatherbo said:

https://www.weather.gov/mqt/February4th2019IceStorm

Yikes, up to .8 inches is bad, but I recorded 1.5 to 2 inches of Ice, which is a NIGHTMARE TO DEAL WITH! (At least the Ground Temperatures were above freezing)