A Little Sunshine!
January 5th, 2009 at 7:04 pm by Bill Steffen under Bill's Blog, Weather
We wound up with 333 minutes of sunshine today. If you combine the sunshne we had on Jan. 2, 3, and 5 – it was more than we saw during the entire 31-day stretch from Nov. 30 through Dec. 30 combined. Usually when cold air comes across Lake Michigan in winter, we get lake-effect clouds and snow flurries/showers. However, today the dry air won out and we got to see some sunshine! From Nov. 29 – Dec. 28 (29 days) we had exactly 3% of possible sunshine in Grand Rapids! While I can’t confirm this…I’d guess that during that period, Grand Rapids was possibly the cloudiest place on Earth. You probably haven’t noticed, but we are gaining one minute of daylight per day in the evening now. We are still at 8:14 AM for the sunrise, the latest of the year. We’ve gained 9 minutes of daylight now since the Winter Solstice back on Dec. 21. Check out the ice forming by the Lake Michigan shoreline in Holland, (daytime) or in Grand Haven. Here’s the latest satellite picture (daytime). Here’s current observations in Michigan. A nice slightly-bigger-than first 1/4 moon is shining this evening. Venus is the bright star in the southwest in the evening, with Jupiter lower to the horizon and setting just after twilight.
Bill, I will take all the sunshine you send by way.
Sunshine just makes for a much better day…
Bill, I have noticed the 1 min a day increase, but only by the sun’s angle on Friday, when we had sunshine…It’s slightly above it’s lowest point..
We could use some sun..
Put a smile on some folks faces!
Did anyone else see the interview with Reed Timmer this morning just before 7? A co-worker called me as I was pulling into work and said HURRY UP-Reed Timmer is LIVE on WOOD TV 8!! By the time I got inside, it was already done.
what was the interview?
Maybe it will be on the web site?
I just got a reply back from Matt Kirkwood. The original interview he did with Reed and Chris will not be re-broadcast, however another interview with them was recorded after the live one, and will “likely be broadcast at noon, and sometime between 5 and 6pm”. No mention of it being on the website.
Thanks for the quick reply Matt!
I am so ready for Spring. I want to throw open the windows and air this house out. My kids have yet another nasty cold. They went the first 2 years of their life without getting sick at all. I think they are making up for lost time.
But….without the cold, I would not appreciate the warmth. So I will daydream of Tulips, worms, mud puddles, watermelon, playing in the rain, and dirty feet.
I think your co-anchor meant he was glad the sun was out yesterday when you said only 1 minute more a day.I’ll take all we can get!
Here is a map of the latest ice on lake michigan.
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/Great_Lakes/5_Lake_Composite/West_Composite/wl090101color.jpg
I HAVE noticed the days getting longer and I am enjoying it! I dread the shorter days of December and am happy when the solstice passes and the daylight lengthens. My overall mood is definitely affected by light. (Sings “Let the sun shine!” -Oh, wait, am I dating myself?);)
All I have to say is that the sunshine today is a taste of God’s grace because it’s really helping my return to work after some much enjoyed time off for the holidays to be much more bearable! Having the sunshine pour through my office window is great today!
Happy New Year to everyone!
Cyle = Dyaln Seese who will get in trouble when bill gathers this imformation that I just posted becasue DYLAN doesnt know that Bill can track the post with an IP ADDRESS and that adress comes from LOWELL HIGH SCHOOL whick dylan will get in trouble because the school will look into his personal account. – Keep it going – Bill is already angry. Been talking to him all weekend about your disrespectful-ness
Bob P.–Here is the link to the video on the website.
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/Storm_Chasers_visit_Storm_Team_8
What a joy seeing the sun!!!!, the New Year is looking good so far!!!!!! keep it up!!!…..For those who bird watch…..at/near the pier at Holland there were over 52 swans in the open water in the channel both New Years Day and Sunday……Its a great site….I believe most of the piers along Michigan are the same….in Holland it was the only protected open water I saw…
Thanks Todd A…
I just had a minute to check the blog and a couple weather models..
so it’s much appreciated.!
I watched the storm chasers marathon over the holidays. I think it’s the 3rd time I’ve seen them. I never tire of tornado shows. Also, I wasn’t aware that Timmer was from Grand Rapids which is cool. Man, I would love to take a trip with those guys someday. How awesome would that be !!!
I was surprised to see that Grand Traverse Bay was wide open. No ice at all except for a few feet out from the edge.
HEY EVERYONE! LOVING THIS SUNSHINE! It’s charging me like a solar battery.
Very cold and breezy down in Allegan all day but the sunshine sure makes up for it. It inspired me to break out the muscle car and take a nice, therapeutic drive. Kinda weird driving around with snow banks still around cause the car rarely goes out in the winter but still very fun.
I am so glad to see the sun – it’s so refreshing and seems to put everyone in a great mood. I’m also enjoying the days getting longer – even if it is a minute at a time. It’s such a joy to drive home at 5:45 – 6:00 and see the last remnants of daylight on the horizon – much better than total darkness!! Spring will be here before we know it! (I am an optimist)