Holiday Parades
November 17th, 2012 at 12:27 am by Bill Steffen under Bill's Blog, Weather
We have several big Holiday Parades this Saturday. I’ll be in the Grand Rapids Santa Claus Parade this morning. The WOOD entry is toward the end of the parade (entry #85). The parade starts at 9 AM, but the WOOD entry may not start in the parade until 10 am. Most of the Storm Team 8 meteorologists will be in the parade (Terri DeBoer and Rachael Ruiz will be broadcasting the parade live from 9 am – 10:30 am on WOOD, TV-8 and it’ll stream online at www.woodtv.com). The parade route is down Monroe Ave. For many years, I’ve been asked to be in the Hudsonville parade, which is at 10 am. This year, because our entry is at the end of the G.R. parade, I probably won’t make it in time for the parade (though I will try). However, I will stop in at the firehouse in Hudsonville after the parade, where they have free snacks, free beverages…you can have your picture taken with Santa and you can see real live reindeer! Look for me there. The Battle Creek Christmas Parade is at 5:40 PM. It’s the kick-off of the International Festival of Lights, so they’d like it dark for the parade (that’s why the 5:40 pm start time. There could still be some fog and low clouds around in the early -mid morning, but the bulk of the weekend looks dry and mild.
Finally, check out the reindeer cam.
Have fun,Bill!
Is that Barack on the right???
By the way, nice job union bosses on killing over 18,000 jobs. http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/16/news/economy/hostess-jobs/index.html?iid=Lead&hpt=hp_t3
Dont run down union boss’ till you read that hostess big wigs got a 80% wage increase and union took cuts. Way to save a struggling company.
“union boss” is right. Here’s the story on the executives at Hostess: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/hostess.asp After the Wall St. Journal outed them – they made some changes. I would certainly condemn the 80% wage increases for a bankrupt company (as I’m sure any stockholders or creditors would). Hostess products will still be made in Canada and perhaps other parts of the world. I would image that someone will buy the brand names and perhaps start again with an overall lower wage structure and a business model with one-person deliver trucks that deliver all bakery products.
LOL Paul!
AND GREAT JOB, MICHIGAN in voting down the racist EM law.
http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/michigan_emergency_manager_law.html
Racist? Most of the EMs are black! The Muskegon Heights School Board ASKED for an Emergency Manager! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/16/muskegon-heights-school-district-emergency-manager_n_1349748.html The EMs have community support: http://articles.wsbt.com/2011-04-28/benton-harbor_29485035
Support for Proposal 1 was concentrated near cities and school districts under emergency manager oversight.
Eight counties in Michigan voted for Prop 1: Macomb, Oakland, Livingston, Berrien, Cass, Allegan, Ottawa, and Kent. Seven of these counties either have a school district or city under emergency management, or border a county that does.
Berrien County, for example, contains Benton Harbor, which has been under emergency manager oversight since 2010. More than 63 percent of Berrien County voters voted for the stronger emergency manager law. This was the strongest showing of support from any county.
Livingston County, which borders both Genesee and Oakland counties (where the cities of Flint and Pontiac are under emergency manger oversight), was the next-largest supporter of Prop 1. More than 62 percent of voters there supported it.
Oakland County voters supported Prop 1 at a rate of 57.7 percent. The county contains the city of Pontiac and borders Wayne County, where the Detroit school district has been under emergency manager oversight since 2009.
AND GREAT JOB, MICHIGAN in voting down the money grab from the union bosses and extreme enviromentalists.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/michigan-proposal-2-results-2012_n_2080767.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/michigan-proposal-3-results-2012-energy_n_2080329.html
AND THANKS, MICHIGAN for voting OBAMA!!!
Michigan Proposal 2
Result:
No 2,624,126 57%
Yes 1,947,209 42%
Over 600,000 in Michigan who voted for Obama voted against Proposal 2
I guess some of those idiots know better, lol.
I hope that it begins on time this year. It was sooooooo late last year! My guys are in the Kelloggsville Rocket Marching band..at the end of the parade just in front of Santa.
CHRISTMAS…CHRISTMAS PARADES!!!!!!!! This calling it HOLIDAY instead of CHRISTMAS so as not to “offend” anyone is REALLY offending me and annoying me!!!!! If people don’t want to call it CHRISTMAS…then don’t celebrate it at all!!!!!!
Dan it’s been the Santa parade for ever take your fake Fox News war someplace else grow up
Holy smokes, calm down. It’s called the holidays (plural) because it’s more than a celebration of just one day (Christmas). It also includes Thanksgiving, New Years eve, New Years Day, hence holidays, meaning more than just one.
LOL! So you have a right not to be offended, but others do not have that right? Classic case of hypocrisy here. In reality, this is a fabricated issue made up by the outrage industry. Christians have been saying “happy holidays” for a long time. Barry is right- there is a reason this is called the “holiday season,” a period of three relatively important holidays in a short six-week span. It’s a time to celebrate, not a time to rant and rail against your neighbors and fellow citizens.
Phbbbbbbt. Chill out, guys!
How that’s a long parade if you don’t start till tn PM!
Thanks…it’s 10 AM and I fixed it.
Does anybody know if NWS server is down this am? I have been trying to go on that site this am. I have been unsuccessful.
I had no trouble accessing their web site.
It looks like all local parades will have an abundance of sunshine and little wind. Great! All the little children will be happy – welcome Santa. Thanks to Bill for “being everywhere”.
I am ready for a snow storm, however this season is starting out just like last year. There are no snow storms in sight! I think I will stay in fall mode and continue golfing, bike riding, working outside in the yard, etc, etc. It looks like we could be heading for another year without a decent winter.
I must admit…I looked at the 06Z GFS model this morning and my heart sank. Yesterday the model was showing highs in the 20s after thanksgiving. I checked this morning…highs in the 50s after t-day now! Ugh…I hope it is just a glitch. I picked a bad couple of years to be living in West Michigan for winter weather!
Yes, the GFS did the exact same thing all last year. This is exactly why I have been saying that virtually all long range models and forecasts are WRONG! I will not believe any type of COLD and SNOW forecast until it is actually happening!
For the month GR is running 2.3 degrees below normal. Hardly a pattern to make you think it will be a year without a winter.
Exactly…
yeaa we could have snow now on Thanksgiving that would be sweet!!! Big storm going to get cranked up east of us and give us all snow in Michigan!! White Turkeys stay tuned INDY…
Wow I like your enthusiasm, however it ain’t happening INDY!
NWS Detroit is saying warm and dry til at least the 26th now. Looks like the pattern is going to be hard to break, just like last year.
Exactly this is a 100% repeat of last year. The long range will always show cold and snow that never actually ends up happening. It will continue to get pushed back week after week after week. Get out and enjoy this GREAT fall weather people. I am heading out to the golf course, then I am going to get some yard done, in fact I plan on golfing a lot next week, right on into to December!
The last 7 weeks have run below normal overall. Looks to me like we have a mild week ahead, cool down next weekend, have another brief warm up, and then real winter weather sets in for the first week of December.
Nice snow storm coming Thanksgiving sure has been years since we have had a white turkey day ARE U READY??? INDY…
Is this coming from that Korean model??
How about we just wait until the beginning of December before we make our guesses…
Good Day,
Bah humbug to a Santa parade before Thanksgiving!
Hehe…
The weather is looking pretty good for this time of year. Sunny and “warm”. Windows open all over the house. And the kitchen smells great with homegrown sweet potatoes in the oven!
Steelie
Too early for this stuff.
Michigan this is just the same exact repeat of last year and if I can remember I do believe they were forecasting a winter storm December 8 or 9 last year and what end up happening a dry mild winter I’m telling you folks it’s going to be a below normal winter in snow and above average in temps and I will love to come back in a few weeks and here you snow lovers complaining that, that snowstorm did not happen and that the ground is still green haha!
I can only hope this winter is like last years.
THIS hardly looks like last winter.
https://twitter.com/BigJoeBastardi/status/269881211122503680/photo/1
Yeah i forgot your sugardaddy knows all.
If you look at it moron, you’ll see that it’s a computer model, not his forecast.
If you look at the average it’s using, no wonder it’s blue. That’s the globally warmed average. It’s .5 degrees warmer than the century average. Bastardi’s a stooge, just like michael g.
It’s the average NOAA/NWS is using! http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/normals/usnormals.html
http://c3headlines.typepad.com/.a/6a010536b58035970c017c3393d350970b-pi
Just as much as we enjoy “hearing” you say the same things like “only Ludington will get snow” or “winter is not coming to Michigan…tehehe” over and over again…… The weather too boring for you in Oklahoma, eh?
Deb holds that record.
Shut up Jordan
You gonna dress as santa this year billy?
Your wrist gonna dress like somebody who needs gov’t coverage, fixxxy?
It was a great day on the golf course and more good golf weather on the way. Get ready to enjoy this nice fall weather, because there is no sign of any SNOW STORMS!
We already know…see Deb’s post above…
http://www.midwestweather.org/
We can only hope they will be right. I did just check the long range RDB model and it is still sowing 100 inches of snow for the season even though we are in warm pattern currently.
Warm, as in 7 weeks below normal.
No, warm as in above average temperature for the last few days and the forecast of above average temperature for at least the next 7 or 8 days in a row! A nice warm stretch for this time in November!!
Last 3 days, -4, +1, +1. Net -.7
Face reality Michael we are in a stretch of above average high temperatures with at least another 7 straight days of above average temperatures!
“we are in a stretch of above average high temperatures”
…not according to numbers:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grr/climate/plots/monthly/?site=KGRR&year=2012&month=11
…but I’ll grant you that we have had 3 days in a row (including today) of above-normal highs, and have at least 6 more coming, according to the 8-day forecast. But, according to the 8-day, temperatures come crashing down next weekend.
Of course, temperatures are moot this winter unless we can get some hydrometeors to fall through the air. Hopefully we can get something exciting to track soon.
Good Day,
Near 60* on Thanksgiving? I’ll take it!
Steelie
Good Day,
Well… I will have some yummy treats from my garden that day! Sweet potatoes, mashed red potatoes, homemade pumpkin pie (not from a can but an actual pumpkin)…
Steelie
Here in Oxford we hit 60 degrees yesterday making it the third 60 degree day in the last 6 days.
Unbelievable temps for mid November.
Exactly meaning Michigan will have a mild and dry winter it has been the same set up this year as it was last year at this time nothing has changed!
Please explain what the set up was last winter.
ROCK ON Travis and everyone needs to get outside and enjoy these above average temps and sun over the next week!!
Last winter? What winter? Last winter was a three month long November.
I didn’t ask what the weather was last winter, I asked what the set up was that she says is just the same as this winter.
Joe Bastardi’s lifting heavy tonight…sweating through his leotard. You should be there, spotting him.
Brad: You really should consider keeping your preferences to yourself. I realize this is a public blog.
Typical of some of the reactional limbs on here….instead of providing Michael with DATA about the pattern, he is insulted…
I must agree with http://www.midwestweather.org they have a good track record!
Heard from some friends of mine that are farmers regarding the weather. They said we will have a lot of cool downs with lake effect snows, followed by warm ups throughout this Winter. I bet we get near average snow fall. I bet the temps average out to be close to average. We shall see what happens and who has the Winter forecast pegged! I’ll make my early prediction for 70 inches of snow for this season. Mark it down.
I heard from some farmers too. We will likely have some cold days, some snow, and some thaws. It will be cold, with warmer days. It will be cloudy, with some sunnier days.
Really? That is specific. It is nice to see you go out on a limb.
Just telling you what they said. Many times, Farmers can get a fairly decent read on what MAY happen.
How about a specific prediction? Hello? Beuller? Beuller?
Snowstorm coming THANKSGIVING from all the sprites tonight …INDYY…
First 17 days of this November:
Temp: -2.3*
Precip: .33″
Sun: 46%
First 17 days of last November:
Temp: +2.9*
Precip: 1.39″
Sun: 37%
You guys are right. It’s been EXACTLY the same.
Think you’ll be able to use the same sarcastic tone after this nice warm week? Report back next weekend with those averages, michael g.
Looks like the last 13 days of last November were a +4.9* for a monthly total of +3.6*.
We’ll need to be about a +11.5 in the next 13 days to make it as warm as last November. Want to bet on that?
That’s closer to 3.7, but who’s counting. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. It’s pretty toasty this morning and it’ll be much closer to last years balmy November than it should be. I guess we’ll see over the next few months whether last winter was just a fluke. What’s laughable is the fact that Bill won’t even weigh in with a forecast.
I guess his blog bully squad will have to the heavy lifting on this one. Good luck.
This morning (Sunday), the low temperature was 27 in G.R. The average is 32. If you call 5 degrees colder than average “toasty”, no wonder you believe in catastrophic “global warming”. The low Monday morning was 31 in G.R. and that was 1 degree cooler than average. We have now had 8 mornings in a row with cooler than average minimum temperatures. Including today (Monday the 19th), Grand Rapids is 1.4 degrees cooler than average for Nov. 2012 and Kalamazoo is 2.7 degrees cooler than average for the month.
Has anyone gone to see Chasing Ice yet?
http://extremeicesurvey.org/
PBS featured all of this on a NOVA program several years back called Disapearing Ice.
Extreme Ice……….please excuse.
http://iceagenow.info/category/glaciers-are-growing-around-the-world/
I did see the southern hemisphere sequel called “Chased By Ice”, you should check it out.
Was that supposed to be clever?
Your response is that ice in the southern hemisphere is replacing the disappearing glaciers in the north? You’re foolishness knows no bounds.
Greatest snow extent EVER observed by satellite at this time of year across Eurasia: http://iceagenow.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Eurasian-Autumn-Snow-Extent.jpg (also well above average across Canada http://climate.rutgers.edu/snowcover/table_rankings.php?ui_set=1#ca (huge one month climb in October).
There’s a lot of ice to chase: http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/S_timeseries.png
And a lot of snow to chase: http://climate.rutgers.edu/snowcover/chart_daily.php?ui_year=2012&ui_day=323&ui_set=0
That’s the greatest extent of snow cover in Eurasia EVER observed in the satellite era.
I can’t believe I’m sitting here in line at meijers waiting for the new Wii U. Hope its worth it. At least they have free wi-fi!!
I am assuming they can have lower prices because they don’t have to pay cashiers…
First measurable snowfall after Thanksgiving? First, the NWS talks about temps in the 60s and that may not be warm enough for Thanksgiving. Then, we read about snow.
COULD NEXT SATURDAY BE OUR FIRST SIGNIFICANT SNOW EVENT…
A LEAD WAVE COMES OUT OF THE SYSTEM OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA
WEDNESDAY AND HEADS OVER UPPER RIDGE INTO SOUTHERN CANADA THURSDAY.
IT BEYOND THIS POINT THAT THINGS GET MORE ACTIVE. THE ECMWF AS FOR
SEVERAL RUNS NOW BEEN MUCH STRONGER ON WHAT HAPPENS TO THAT
SHORTWAVE AS IT MOVES INTO THE EASTERN CONUS TROUGH IN THE
FRIDAY/SATURDAY TIME FRAME. IN FACT THE 18/00Z RUN IS SIGNIFICANTLY
STRONGER AND HAS A DEEPER CLOSED UPPER LOW FARTHER SOUTHWEST THAN
THE 17/12Z RUN OR EVEN MORE SO THAN THE 17/00Z RUNS. THE GFS HAS A
FLAT WAVE WITH THIS FEATURE. GIVEN THE CONTINUITY OF THE ECMWF AND
THAT THE GEM IS MORE LIKE THE ECMWF TOO… I HAVE TO FAVOR THE ECMWF
HERE. THIS WOULD BRING A MUCH STRONGER COLD FRONT FRIDAY INTO
SATURDAY. MOST OF THE IMPACT WEATHER FOR SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN
WOULD BE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY AFTERNOON. IT WOULD SEEM WE
COULD SEE OUR FIRST REAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS SATURDAY MORNING IF THIS
IS IN FACT TRUE. FOR NOW I HAVE PLAYED THIS DOWN IN THE GRIDS BUT IF
THIS TREND CONTINUES LOOK TO SEE OUR FORECAST FOR SAT GET COLDER
WITH MORE SNOW OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
A lot of dynamics with the Jet Stream and the Ridging at this time keeping this pattern in place.
However, these things look to be changing
WOW didn’t expect to wake up and here this YAY now another thing to look forward to this week
COULD NEXT SATURDAY BE OUR FIRST SIGNIFICANT SNOW EVENT…
A LEAD WAVE COMES OUT OF THE SYSTEM OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA
WEDNESDAY AND HEADS OVER UPPER RIDGE INTO SOUTHERN CANADA THURSDAY.
IT BEYOND THIS POINT THAT THINGS GET MORE ACTIVE. THE ECMWF AS FOR
SEVERAL RUNS NOW BEEN MUCH STRONGER ON WHAT HAPPENS TO THAT
SHORTWAVE AS IT MOVES INTO THE EASTERN CONUS TROUGH IN THE
FRIDAY/SATURDAY TIME FRAME. IN FACT THE 18/00Z RUN IS SIGNIFICANTLY
STRONGER AND HAS A DEEPER CLOSED UPPER LOW FARTHER SOUTHWEST THAN
THE 17/12Z RUN OR EVEN MORE SO THAN THE 17/00Z RUNS. THE GFS HAS A
FLAT WAVE WITH THIS FEATURE. GIVEN THE CONTINUITY OF THE ECMWF AND
THAT THE GEM IS MORE LIKE THE ECMWF TOO… I HAVE TO FAVOR THE ECMWF
HERE. THIS WOULD BRING A MUCH STRONGER COLD FRONT FRIDAY INTO
SATURDAY. MOST OF THE IMPACT WEATHER FOR SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN
WOULD BE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY AFTERNOON. IT WOULD SEEM WE
COULD SEE OUR FIRST REAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS SATURDAY MORNING IF THIS
IS IN FACT TRUE. FOR NOW I HAVE PLAYED THIS DOWN IN THE GRIDS BUT IF
THIS TREND CONTINUES LOOK TO SEE OUR FORECAST FOR SAT GET COLDER
WITH MORE SNOW OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
Good Day,
We of course will have to keep an eye on it, however… remember how many times last year we had a forcast 7 days out? Lots of excitement only to lead to disappointment. I will reserve excitement until Thursday at the earliest.
Steelie
THe NWS changed it and now it’s only going to be wet snowflakes but hey we still have a chance at that December 7-9 one
.LONG TERM…(WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)
ISSUED AT 232 PM EST SUN NOV 18 2012
FAIRLY MILD WEATHER WILL CONTINUE WEDNESDAY THROUGH THE THANKSGIVING
HOLIDAY WITH A CHC OF SHOWERS THURSDAY NIGHT WITH THE COLD FRONT. WE
DID LOWER THE MAX TEMP FCST JUST A BIT FOR WEDNESDAY THOUGH DUE TO
POTENTIAL FOR EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER AND ALSO BASED ON MEX NUMERICAL
GUIDANCE TRENDS.
SOME SHOWERS WILL LINGER FRIDAY AND NW FLOW CAA WILL CAUSE TEMPS TO
FINALLY RETURN TO NEAR NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR BY LATE FRIDAY
THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND.
H8 TEMPS WILL BE COLD ENOUGH FOR SOME NW FLOW LAKE EFFECT RAIN
SHOWERS SATURDAY (THAT MAY BE MIXED WITH SOME WET SNOW FLAKES NORTH
OF I-96) BEFORE A SFC RIDGE BUILDS IN TO PRODUCE DRY WX SATURDAY
NIGHT AND SUNDAY.
We are in a warm dry pattern with no change in sight!
Change to cold comes Friday.