RSS FeedsIssued by NWS Detroit/Pontiac, MI
000
CXUS53 KDTX 022210
CLMDTW
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
500 PM EST MON FEB 2 2009
...................................
...THE DETROIT CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2009...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1870 TO 2009
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM
NORMAL
................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 67 01/25/1950
LOW -21 01/21/1984
HIGHEST 39 01/23 MM MM
LOWEST -15 01/16 MM MM
AVG. MAXIMUM 25.1 31.1 -6.0
AVG. MINIMUM 9.5 17.8 -8.3
MEAN 17.3 24.5 -7.2
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0
DAYS MAX <= 32 27 16.7 10.3
DAYS MIN <= 32 31 28.5 2.5
DAYS MIN <= 0 6 3.1 2.9
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 5.02 1932
MINIMUM .23 1961
TOTALS 1.10 1.91 -0.81
DAILY AVG. 0.04 0.06 -0.02
DAYS >= .01 11 MM MM
DAYS >= .10 4 MM MM
DAYS >= .50 0 MM MM
DAYS >= 1.00 0 MM MM
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 0.22 01/17 TO 01/17
STORM TOTAL MM
(MM/DD(HH)) MM
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
MAXIMUM 29.6 1978
24 HR TOTAL 0.4 1933
TOTALS 25.2 11.9 13.3
LIQUID EQUIV 2.52 1.20 1.32
SINCE 7/1 48.8 26.0 22.8
LIQUID 7/1 4.88
DAYS >= TRACE 23 10.0 13.0
DAYS >= 1.0 7 3.6 3.4
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 14R 01/18
24 HR TOTAL 6.4 MM
STORM TOTAL MM
(MM/DD(HH)) MM
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 1469 1270 199
SINCE 7/1 3872 3670 202
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 0 0 0
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST MM
LATEST MM
EARLIEST MM
LATEST MM
.................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 9.0
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 25/300 DATE 01/23
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 35/280 DATE 01/02
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 2
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 15
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 14
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 72
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 0
HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0
LIGHT RAIN 0 FREEZING RAIN 2
LT FREEZING RAIN 3 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 4
LIGHT SNOW 22 SLEET 1
FOG 19 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 2
HAZE 21
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
$$
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CLIMATOLOGICAL STATISTICS FOR THE NWS WHITE LAKE - JANUARY 2009
...TEMPERATURE DATA... ...PRECIPITATION DATA...
AVERAGE MAXIMUM.... 22.6 MONTHLY TOTAL .......... 1.60
AVERAGE MINIMUM.... 6.2 GREATEST IN 24HRS....... .40
MONTHLY AVERAGE.... 14.4 ON THE 17TH
2009 TOTAL.............. 1.60
...HEATING DEGREE DAYS... ...SNOWFALL DATA...
MONTHLY TOTAL.........1577 MONTHLY TOTAL............ 25.2
2008-09 SEASON TOTAL..4485 2008-09 SEASON TOTAL..... 70.5
...COOLING DEGREE DAYS...
MONTHLY TOTAL.......... 0
2009 TOTAL............. 0
==================================================================
CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY FOR DETROIT - JANUARY 2009
...ANOTHER IMPRESSIVE WINTER MONTH...
...COLDEST JANUARY IN WELL OVER A DECADE MATCHES WELL WITH 1994...
...COLDEST AND SNOWIEST MONTH SINCE DECEMBER 2000...
***DOMINANT TEMPERATURE/SNOW TREND...BELOW NORMAL/ABOVE***
ANOTHER IMPRESSIVELY COLD AND STORMY MONTH CONTINUED TO DEAL A HARD
WINTER TO THE INHABITANTS OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. IT WAS THE
SECOND MONTH IN A ROW FOR COLD (BUT MUCH WORST THAN DECEMBER) AND
SNOWFALL. THE TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 25.2" MADE THIS JANUARY THE 4TH
SNOWIEST JANUARY ON RECORD AND THE 12TH SNOWIEST MONTH OF ALL TIME.
(DECEMBER`S SNOWFALL OF 21.4" MADE 6TH PLACE FOR SNOWIEST DECEMBERS).
NOT ONLY DID WE SEE A NUMBER OF BELOW ZERO DAYS /5/...MORE IMPRESSIVE
WAS THE PERSISTENCE OF THE COLD. THERE WERE NO 40 DEGREE DAYS AND JUST
FOUR DAYS DURING JANUARY...THE TEMPERATURE CLIMBED ABOVE FREEZING
(AND MAINLY BY A FEW DEGREES). THOSE "WARM" DAYS WERE THE 2ND /35/...
4TH /37/...13TH /34/ AND THE 23RD /39/ (THE HIGH OF THE MONTH). AS FAR
AS THE COMBINATION OF COLD AND SNOW...ONE HAS TO THINK BACK TO THE
AWFULLY SNOWY AND COLD MONTH OF DECEMBER 2000 FOR A SIMILAR COMPARISON.
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE THAT MONTH CAME IN AT 16.6 AND SNOWFALL RANGED
FROM TWO TO THREE FEET. IN ADDITION...THIS WAS ALSO THE LAST MONTH WHERE
THE TEMPERATURE CONSISTENTLY REMAINED BELOW 40. THERE WAS ONLY ONE
RECORD LOW /-15 ON 16TH/ AT DETROIT METRO AIRPORT BUT THAT WAS FAIRLY
EXCEPTIONAL CONSIDERING THE HEAT ISLAND EFFECT. THE -15 LOW BROKE THE
PREVIOUS RECORD FOR THE DATE OF -14 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1972. THIS ALSO
WAS THE COLDEST DAY RECORDED AT DETROIT SINCE JANUARY 19TH 1994 WHEN A
RECORD -20 WAS MARKED!
AS FAR AS SIMILAR COLD AND/OR SNOWY JANUARIES...SEVERAL COME TO MIND.
THE LATEST (AS MENTIONED) WAS JANUARY OF 1994 WHICH IS NEARLY A
DUPLICATE REGARDING TEMPERATURES BUT LESS SNOW FELL. THE AVERAGE HIGH
IN JANUARY 1994 WAS 25.1...THE AVERAGE LOW WAS 9.4 FOR A MEAN ALSO OF
17.3 WITH 17.9" OF SNOWFALL. THE TEMPERATURE RANGE IN JANUARY 1994 WAS
WIDER THAN THIS PAST JANUARY ON BOTH SIDES. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURES
WERE IN THE LOWER 40S WHILE THE LOWS DROPPED AS LOW AS -15 TO -20.
GOING BACK FURTHER TO THE SOME OTHER COLD JANUARIES. IN JANUARY OF
1984... THE AVERAGE HIGH WAS 25.4...LOW 10.5 FOR A MEAN OF 17.9 BUT
WITH ONLY 9.9" OF SNOW. MORE SIMILAR IS THE JANUARY OF 1982 WHEN THE
HIGH TEMPERATURE AVERAGED 25.0...THE LOW AVERAGED 9.1 FOR A MONTHLY MEAN
OF 17.1 (JUST A TOUCH COLDER) AND MORE SNOW FELL /20.0"/ BUT STILL NOT
A MUCH AS THIS JANUARY. THEN...FOUR JANUARIES EARLIER IN 1978...
TEMPERATURES WERE WARMER WITH AN AVERAGE HIGH OF 26.4 AND LOW OF 12.7
(MEAN OF 19.5) BUT MORE SNOW FELL THAN ALL OF THESE JANUARIES WITH
29.6" (OUR SNOWIEST JANUARY - BLIZZARD OF `78). FINALLY OUR BITTER COLD
WINTER OF 1976-77 CONTAINED A JANUARY THAT WAS PITIFULLY COLD WITH AN
AVERAGE HIGH OF 20.6 AND LOW OF 5.0 DEGREES! THAT GAVE US A MEAN OF
JUST 12.8 FOR THE MONTH AND THE COLDEST JANUARY ON RECORD (NOT TO MENTION
DETROIT`S SECOND COLDEST MONTH...COLDEST MONTH IS 2/1875 WITH 12.3).
ANOTHER MILESTONE OF SORTS OCCURRED AT THE HERE AT THE NWS IN WHITE
LAKE. JANUARY 2009 WAS OUR COLDEST MONTH /AVERAGE 14.4/ ON RECORD SINCE
RECORDS BEGAN THE WINTER OF 1995-96. HOWEVER...JANUARY OF `94 (LIKE
DETROIT) WOULD MOST LIKELY BE A GOOD CONTENDER FOR COLD BUT IT WAS
PRE-RECORD KEEPING.
AND NOW THE SNOW...
FREQUENT SNOWS FOR A SECOND MONTH IN A ROW BROUGHT WELL ABOVE NORMAL
SNOW AMOUNTS TO ALL OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. OFFICIALLY AT DETROIT
METRO AIRPORT...25.2" OF SNOW FELL. THIS IS MORE THAN TWICE THE NORMAL
FOR JANUARY AND PLACED JANUARY 2009 IN 4TH PLACE FOR SNOWIEST JANUARY
(THIS COMING ON THE HEELS OF DECEMBER`S 6TH SNOWIEST PLACEMENT). HERE
AT THE NWS IN WHITE LAKE...IRONICALLY WE ALSO TOTALED THE IDENTICAL
AMOUNT WITH 25.2" (FIRST TIME EVER I CAN REMEMBER). AS MENTIONED...
THERE WERE SEVERAL SNOWS DURING THE MONTH BUT THREE WERE THE MOST
EVENTFUL.
SEVERAL DAYS OF LIGHT SNOWS ACTUALLY PROCEEDED OUR FIRST NOTABLE STORM
ON THE 9-11TH WHEN THE HEAVIER SNOW MOVED IN. SNOW AMOUNTS RANGED
FROM AS LITTLE AS THREE TO FOUR INCHES IN ST CLAIR COUNTY (RICHMOND AND
ST CLAIR) TO AS MUCH AS 9.5" IN WASHTENAW COUNTY NEAR CHELSEA.
OFFICIALLY AT DETROIT...6.8" OF SNOW FELL IN THE 34 HOUR TIME PERIOD.
OTHER DIVERSE TOTALS INCLUDED... 5.0" HERE AT THE NWS IN WHITE LAKE...
6.4" IN NORTHERN LIVONIA...9.0" IN FERNDALE...5.9" IN HOWELL...9.0 IN
BRIGHTON...8.1 IN WYANDOTTE AND 8.5" IN MAYBEE /MONROE CY/.
THE SECOND STORM FOLLOWED ABOUT A WEEK LATER ON THE 17-18TH TRACKING FROM
WISCONSIN INTO MID MICHIGAN. GUSTY WARM AIR ADVECTION INTO THE FRIGID
AIR /TEENS/ ALSO BROUGHT BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. HEAVIEST SNOWS THIS
TIME FELL FROM ANN ARBOR TO DETROIT NORTHWARD INTO THE NORTHERN
SUBURBS. OFFICIALLY DETROIT RECEIVED 5.4" IN THE 21 HOUR PERIOD...
WHILE HERE AT THE NWS IN WHITE LAKE 6.8" ACCUMULATED. OTHER TOTALS
RANGED FROM JUST AN INCH OR SO CLOSER TO THE OHIO BORDER AT BLISSFIELD
AND MORENCI...TO FOUR TO FIVE INCHES AT HOWELL...ANN ARBOR AND
FARMINGTON HILLS...TO 6.5" AT EASTPOINTE AND 7.2" IN PONTIAC.
THE THIRD STORM CLIPPED MAINLY THE EXTREME SOUTHEAST QUARTER OF MICHIGAN
WITH THE BEST SNOWS SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM PORT HURON...THROUGH
DETROIT`S NORTHWEST SUBURBS...SOUTHWEST TO AROUND ADRIAN. TOTALS OF
SNOW INCLUDED...5.1" AT DETROIT METRO BUT JUST 2.3" HERE IN WHITE LAKE.
DOWN AT MORENCI WAS THE HIGHEST TOTAL THIS TIME WITH 5.5"...3.0" IN
SALINE...3.2" IN ST CLAIR AND 3.0" IN LIVONIA.
IN SPITE OF ALL THE SNOW...THE WATER EQUIVALENTS WERE ON THE LOW SIDE
BECAUSE OF THE EXTREME COLD. MOST AREAS SAW JUST AN INCH OR TWO OF
WATER CONTAINED IN THE TWO FEET OF SNOW. AT DETROIT METRO...JUST 1.10"
OF PRECIPITATION WAS MELTED...WHILE AT THE NWS...1.60" WAS TALLIED FROM
THE NEARLY ALL SNOW. LITTLE IF ANY PRECIPITATION WAS LIQUID DURING THE
COLD MONTH BEING IT EITHER FROZEN OR FREEZING. FREEZING RAIN AND/OR
DRIZZLE OCCURRED ON THE 4TH...6TH AND 7TH. A QUICK BUT SUBSTANTIAL DOSE
OF FREEZING DRIZZLE DURING THE EVENING OF THE 6TH COATED ROADWAYS AND
CAUSED NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS IN THE SHORT TIME.
FOR THE SECOND MONTH IN A ROW...OUR ANALOGUE WINTERS WERE ON THE MARK
WITH CALLING FOR A COLD MONTH. FOR JANUARY...EIGHT OUT OF THE
ELEVEN JANUARIES SURVEYED WERE COLDER THAN NORMAL. SNOWFALL WAS
WIDESPREAD AND CONTINUED TO BE ABOVE NORMAL AND NOW...ALL AREAS
PARTICIPATED. FEBRUARY`S PROJECTED TEMPERATURE DATA WAS FINALLY MORE
VARIABLE THAN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS WITH JUST AS MANY CONTAINING ABOVE
NORMAL AS BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES (ALONG WITH A FEW NEAR NORMAL).
LOOK FOR IMPROVEMENT IN THE TEMPERATURE DEPARTMENT WITH TEMPERATURES
AVERAGING CLOSER TO NORMAL OR ABOVE.
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A NEW ITEM IN OUR MONTHLY WRITE-UPS THAT I FEEL WILL GIVE A BETTER
IDEA TO THE MONTHS DOMINANT WEATHER TREND FOR BOTH TEMPERATURE AND
DOMINATE PRECIPITATION. THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THE TEMPERATURE AND
PRECIPITATION STATISTICS/DEPARTURES WHICH DON`T ALWAYS REFLECT OUR
DOMINANT MONTHLY WEATHER ACCURATELY. THEREFORE...ALONG WITH OUR
MONTHLY STATISTICS/DEPARTURE...TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION TRENDS
WILL BE SIMPLY INCLUDED...AND REMEMBER THEY MAY NOT ALWAYS AGREE.
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DEEDLER
