Christmas Day Weather
December 24th, 2008 at 10:41 pm by Bill Steffen under Bill's Blog, Weather
Christmas morning – The Winter Weather Warning and Advisories have expired. The NWS reports the “whitest Christmas” ever in GRR was a snow depth of 22″ on 12/25/51.
We’re already at 50.1″ of snow for the month in GRR (60.1″ for the season), the 4th highest amount of snow ever in the month of December (average is 18″) and the 4th highest for ANY month. Muskegon is up to 66.5″ for the month (81.3″ for the season). Kalamazoo has had 39.6″. Lansing is 21.4″ for the month and 31.5″ for the season. Kalamazoo (WMU) is up to 40.6″ for the month and 47.7″ for the season. East Grand Rapids has 57.6″ for the month and 62.3″ for the season. Ludington tops the list with 73″ of snow for December (that’s over 6 feet!) and 91″ for the season. Muskegon still has a long way to go to reach their monthly record of 102.4″ in Jan 1982. I remember that month…we had blizzards three weekends in a row in January.
This is also on track to be the cloudiest month EVER! We’ve had only 7 hours and 59 min. of sunshine this whole month. That’s 3.6% of possible sunshine. The cloudiest month ever in GRR was Nov. 1992 with 5.1% of possible sunshine. We had more sunshine last Fourth of July than we have had in the last 25 days combined!
Temperature-wise here’s how far we are below normal this December: Grand Rapids: -4.0 deg., Kalamazoo -5.9 deg., Chicago -7.8 deg. Official snow depth: Grand Rapids 12″, Muskegon 16″, Wellston in Manistee Co. 29″, Alyeska AK. (summit) 104″ (272″ for the winter so far). Verkoyansk in Siberia had a HIGH temperature of -71 deg. F on Saturday.
Check out the National Warning Map. Here’s the NAM/GFS model data, the 120-hour total snowfall from the GFS model and the 84-hour total snowfall from the NAM model (note because the NAM is only 84-hours, it will have less snow than the GFS, which goes out 36 more hours). Here’s a wider view of expected snow. Click for the Great Lakes Radar Loop, the eastern U.S. surface map. Michigan surface weather map, and the latest GRR NWS discussion.
Whew! Boy am I glad that’s over! Left here at 2 and just got home. The worst roads were north between here and Cadillac, then on the way home between Mt. Pleasant and here. I bet we got 5 inches of snow since we left here! They didn’t bother to plow today and obviously I don’t expect them to tomorrow but I almost got stuck just trying to park the car, lol.
Anyhoo-just wanted to say Merry Christmas and hope everyone’s travels for the holiday are safe! Thanks to all for the well wishes for my trip-I think they helped! ;o)
Releived to hear that all is well and you are safely home, Tanya. Like doctor d, I am such “the mom”….or whatever you call it when you are thinking about the safety of those in your circle! Merry Christmas sister!
Wow – surprised we’re not under a high wind advisory. It sounds like it’s gusting to 40+ in Byron Center.
Wow, happy birthday Charles! 21? I remember when I turned 21. My friends took me out on the town and I got wasted! One of the very few times in my life when I did get drunk. I have a strange reaction to alcohol – if something is funny or someone tells me something funny, I just laugh and laugh, and it seems the harder I am laughing, the more I feel I have to laugh, and it just keeps on. Then in the morning when everything is cleared, I don’t have a hangover, just a sore side and stomach from all the laughing!
So happy birthday and be careful if you do go out to have a drink – since you’re legal now!
Tanya, glad you made it back OK. We lost power here in my part of Hastings for couple of hours. It’s been windy. We had our christmas tonight. Christmas day my parents are coming for dinner. Saturday, the grandkids christmas here. I will need a week to recover from christmas.
“slushed-in” here. This is a private road, and the association says that they are equipped to plow snow, but they can’t plow slush (about 15 inches deep). Nobody can move in this stuff. Any cars that get down here are not getting out. Absolute insanity.
Anyway, we’re good for now. I’m tending to sick hubby and sick daughter. Enjoying one of the best clementine oranges I have ever had and filling stockings. They’re fevers are about 101 right now, so they aren’t very excited about anything. We’re stocked with food, meds and lots of tissues, so we’ll be ok for a few days. Hopefully that heavy rain and 50 degree temps will get here Saturday and clean this mess out of here.
Just wanted to stop by and wish you all a Merry Christmas. Gotta love this weather family!
Thanks Jennifer & Marti! =)
LMAO nice story, I used to sneak alcohol a while back, and after the lawn mower accident (not bad I just ran into the deck…) and then when I wanted beer when I was depressed I gave it up, but I did try it. I don;t smoke, drink, do drugs, speed, or anything. I find it’s much better to be legal, you have much more power as a legal person than an illegal person. Even though I am legal to smoke and drink, I choose not to =)
But I still like hearing stories of others LOL
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE IN LESS THAN A HALF HOUR!!!!!!!!
Thanks Craig & Larry-I really appreciate all of the caring people here in the weather family! I am very blessed! =)
Doc-hope you get “de-slushed” soon! (as opposed to Charles choosing to be “de-slOshed”) LOL Seriously tho, I know that’s gotta be a real drag with the slush that thick!
Charles, point well taken & understood-good choice!
) And again, Happy Birthday (even tho it’s over now-just making sure I said it again!).
Merry Christmas everyone!