The Robins are still not happy

We got another 5½ inches of snow yesterday and last night ... and its April.

The Robins are REALLY annoyed now

It is April 2nd and (after this morning) we have 2-4 inches of snow on the ground. The sidewalks and streets held enough heat that they melted.

The robins have been here for two weeks and the red-winged black birds have been here for three. They are not amused.

The last time they were this annoyed was back in 2007

First Snow

So how was your drive home last night?

Last night's hail

We had the following hail last night during the thunderstorm.

Monday we got 2 inches of snow, which melted by when I got out from work. The NWS announcement is here.



This doesn't look like April.

Local Snow Report

Here's the snow from this last week:

	01/22	01/20

Local Snow Report

Here's the snow from this last week:

01/17	01/15	01/13

Local Snow Report

Here's the snow from this last week:

01/11	01/05	01/03

Interactive National Weather Map

This is neat. Click through the picture to get to the National Weather Service active page. Then mouse over the pluses and dots to see the current weather.

Local Snow Report

Here's the snow from just over a week ago:

12/12	12/05	12/01

First Snow

So what do I see when I leave work this evening?

Winter Comes in Two Days

Don't Worry, It's Here!

The last few days, they've been predicting that today's snow storm would drop from 6 to 12 inches of snow between when it started at midnight and when it finished by mid-afternoon. By last night they had reduced the range to 7 to 9 inches of snow.

This morning I removed no more than 3 inches of snow off the drive and sidewalks before work. When I left for work, it was still blowing and snowing at a rate of around an inch an hour. The streets had not been plowed and it was interesting making turns at the intersections. (When the roads aren't plowed, the intersections build up hedgerows that have to be broken through. People have been known to bottom-out on these hedgerows so their car gets stuck and they lose traction.)

The snow in the parking lot at work was 6 inches deep when I went in and 8 inches deep when I left at lunch time. By lunch, only the very major roads appeared to be plowed, trucks were getting stuck on the side road leading up to my place of work, and I had difficulty getting out of the gas station after filling up my car.

The snow quit around 1:30, by 5 pm the major roads were plowed clean and side street were more-or-less passable. Overnight my driveway has gone from having a couple of piles of snow to being enclosed by 2 foot high walls of snow.

According to the NWS we have received 10.2 inches of snow at the airport. This sets a new record, besting the 4.5 inch snow fall from 1975. It would not surprise me if we got more snow on our side of the city than at the airport.

And more snow is coming over Saturday night, Sunday night, and Monday. We are certainly going to have a White Christmas.

(This entry will be updated tomorrow morning when the NWS publishes the snowfall map for today.)

Yes, that was some snow.

So, We've Had Some More Snow

Here's the snow from the end of this week:

12/06	12/04	12/03

The main roads are clear. The side street and country roads are packed snow and snow covered.

West Michigan Snow Maps (again)

Here's the snow so far:

11/30	11/24	11/20	11/17

Oh, the joys of "Lake Effect" Snow.

We are currently under a Hazardous Weather Outlook, its raining, and they expect 2 inches of snow over night.

Second Snowiest Snow Season On Record For Grand Rapids

From the desk of the National Weather Service:
Second Snowiest Snow Season On Record For Grand Rapids

With the addition of 1.7 inches of snow on March 27th, Grand Rapids has had 107.0 inches of snow for the snow season. That moves this snow season into second place for the snowiest ever for Grand Rapids. The snowiest season on record was 1951-52 with 132.0 inches of snowfall. The previous second place season was 2001-02 with 105.2 inches of snow. This also means Grand Rapids now has six seasons with over 100 inches of snow. Two of those six have happened in within the last seven years.

Below is a list the current top ten snow seasons for Grand Rapids: (note the snow season is from July 1st through June 30th on the following year)

Rank	Value	Season
1	132.0	1951-52
2	107.0	2007-08
3	105.2	2001-02
4	104.7	1958-59
5	101.4	1964-65
6	101.0	1970-71
7	98.4	1996-97
8	98.1	2000-01
9	96.0	1978-79
10	95.5	1929-30

Wow. I've been around for almost all of them.

Isn't It Lovely

Last night we attempted to fetch our middle child home from college for her elder sister's birthday.



We got to the college, but were not able to get home until this morning. We tried last night, but it was hard to see the road and slippery. Even this morning there was black ice on all the bridges and throughout much of Ionia county. Note that all of this snow came down between 7 PM and midnight. To top it off, most of the county road commissions are out of salt for the roads.

West Michigan Snow Maps

Here is what the National Weather Service indicates for last night's snow:

The Robins are not Amused

A Robin in Winter

The robins came back a week ago when we had warm weather. Now they are hanging around the field next door looking sheepish. If they had any sense, they would hide underneath the pool deck with the sparrows and eat at the feeders. Welcome to Spring in Michigan.

ManBearPig defies Spring

Blowing Snow at 5pm

Covering the ground by 11pm

It's April 4th, we have blowing and drifting snow. The temperature is in the 20's and there is at least an inch of snow on the ground. The city snow plows went by a few minutes ago. Welcome to Spring in Michigan.

Update: (04/05 8am) Most of the roads are clear this morning due to the trucks salting them last night. The driveway was covered with lumps of ice from where the snow melted on the warm ground and then froze.

We're In For A Bumpy Ride

The current NWS alert lists the following:

WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST MONDAY

Urgent - Winter Weather Message National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI 1035 PM EST Sat Feb 24 2007

1145 - /O.Con.Kgrr.Ws.W.0005.070225t0600z - 070226t1200z/ Mason - Lake - Osceola - Clare - Oceana - Newaygo - Mecosta - Isabella - Muskegon - Montcalm - Gratiot - Ottawa - Kent - Ionia - Clinton - Including The Cities Of... Ludington... Baldwin... Reed City... Clare... Hart... Fremont... Big Rapids... Mount Pleasant... Muskegon... Greenville... Alma... Jenison... Grand Rapids... Ionia... St. Johns

... Winter Storm Warning Remains In Effect Until 7 AM EST Monday...

Update Sunday
They were quoting 8 inches of snow overnight, but we only have seen two to three inches of heavy wet snow. The day has alternated between snow and sleet (ice chunks) with the current snowflakes a couple inches across. Now it looks like it will be an interesting night.

Afternoon	Evening

So much warmer

We only had a low of -1 overnight and it is already 7 degrees out.

Its going to be a warm day.

Might even get up into the teens (Fahrenheit).