I had a whole post almost ready to go about the massive 17″ rise in water level of Lake Michigan/Huron due to this round of storms & runoff, but after a week of weather induced brutality, I think we could all use this beautiful picture of an Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly that Diane took last summer in the U.P.
See more in her Butterflies gallery on Flickr & have a safe weekend everyone!
Barefoot Aurora by Lake Superior Photo
The weather has been getting a lot of (justifiable) bad press lately so I figured I’d try and put a little positive spin on news shared by Michigan Public that NOAA is forecasting a potentially strong El Niño weather pattern developing for Michigan this summer:
“Even though the evidence is still early, this could be a very significant event in 2026 and lingering into 2027,” says Daniel Swain, climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
A strong El Niño would drive up average global temperatures. The hottest years on record generally occur in years when El Niño is active, because El Niño occurs when the Eastern Pacific is hotter than usual. “Its function in the global earth system is to release heat from the deeper oceans that has been temporarily stored there,” Swain says. “El Niño allows that subducted heat to be unearthed.”
That dynamic played out in a big way in 2023 and 2024, when a long, strong El Niño pattern helped shatter global temperature records. 2023 smashed the record for the hottest year ever recorded on Earth, only to be surpassed by temperatures in 2024.
Last week Shawn shared this photo saying that she’s eagerly anticipating the return of nights watching the aurora barefoot so it looks like El Niño is gonna help with that. You can see lots more amazing photos from Lake Superior Photo on Facebook. You can also visit the Lake Superior Photo website to view & purchase photos and for information about their Marquette gallery along with photography workshops, tours, and guiding.
There used to be a bridge here by Nate Griswold
The state of Michigan has been absolutely pummeled by severe weather over the last week, and it’s taking a serious & unprecedented toll on our roads & bridges as demonstrated in the photos my friend Nate shared with me from Johnson Rd near Kaleva.
Just a few of the impacted areas include the pictured damage near Kaleva, flooding in Frankenmuth, Traverse City’s Boardman River bridging its banks & taking out bridges (for sure check out the 40 photos+ of the damage by Madi Taylor), a washout on the M-119 “Tunnel of Trees”, flooding along the Muskegon River, worries at dams including Mio Dam, significant damage across southeast Michigan including Ann Arbor & Metro Detroit, and an evacuation order in Cheboygan due to concerns about the Cheboygan Dam failing discussed yesterday. I could go on and on, but I’m just going to share hopes that everyone can stay safe and look in on their neighbors!!
CBS Detroit has an overview of the concerns and how a historic late winter snowstorm combined with an extremely rapid warmup & heavy spring rains to create this perfect storm of terrible outcomes.
Cheboygan Dam by MSP Emergency Management & Homeland Security Division
Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula are absolutely drowning in floodwater. One place that is very apparent is Cheboygan, where Gov Whitmer declared a State of Emergency on Friday due to rising water levels at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex.
I’ve been following this over the weekend and the level of all hands on deck activity is pretty incredible, certainly a testament to lessons learned by the collapse of the Edenfield & Sanford Dams six years ago. Michigan Department of Transportation has closed the US-23 bascule bridge in Cheboygan near the dam by raising its deck to the open position. The foundation of the bridge (built in 1940) is susceptible to erosion during flood events. Traffic is being detoured to the Lincoln Avenue Bridge, and residents are urged to follow the Cheboygan County Sheriff’s Department for the latest updates.
There’s more photos of efforts at the dam below along with an absolutely wild video from the dam shared a couple of days ago by Michigan Storm Chasers on YouTube.
Miners Castle 1961 – 2013 by Ed Evans
On Thursday morning twenty years ago today the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore reported that the northeast turret of the iconic Miners Castle rock formation had collapsed:
One turret remains on Miners Castle, the best-known feature of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The collapse was reported via cell phone by fisherman in the area, according to chief ranger Larry Hach. Most of the rock fell north and into Lake Superior, and there were no injuries.
While the rockfall at Miners Castle on April 13 was startling, such events are not rare along the Pictured Rocks escarpment. At least five major falls have occurred over the past dozen years … Rockfalls along the cliffs typically occur in the spring and fall due to freezing and thawing action of Mother Nature.
Ed shared these photos on a Michigan in Pictures post – click to tell him thanks!!
Much more Miner’s Castle on Michigan in Pictures including this awesome look at the underwater part of the rock formation! While the collapse of Miners Castle wasn’t recorded, here’s a video from 2021 showing the collapse of a section of cliff face near Mosquito Beach.
Editor’s note: I don’t know if I’ve ever had 3 sports posts in a single week or started & ended the week with a photo from the same photographer. Guess it’s just one of those special weeks and one of those special photographers!
NCAA Fan Jam Mobile by Montez Miller
Although the NCAA National Basketball Champions haven’t even held their parade yet (Saturday, April 11 @ 10am in Ann Arbor), the NCAA is already beginning promotions for the 2027 NCAA Men’s Final Four in Detroit that takes place April 3 & 5 at Ford Field (click for tickets & details).
Our friend Montez Miller was at the kickoff yesterday in Detroit for the NCAA Fan Jam Mobile tour that will travel to the 83 counties of Michigan through April of 2027 to build awareness and excitement for another huge event for the state of Michigan & our largest city.
Here are some more photos from the Detroit event below, and I snuck in a gorgeous shot of the new Hudson’s in downtown Detroit that she shared last night! Follow her on Facebook for the latest!
Fly Me to the Moon by Morgan Andrew Somers
Given the state of the world these days, it’s probably not surprising that a lot of people are turning their eyes to the future and to outer space. Bridge Michigan’s Paula Gardner shares that this includes the State of Michigan that is opening a space innovation hub to seek a portion of what is projected to be a nearly $2 trillion sector:
Blades and nozzles in the four engines of the Artemis II rocket came from Moeller Aerospace in Harbor Springs, a state supplier to NASA contractors. Elmet Technologies in Lewiston Coldwater tooled more equipment. And NASA used solar particle forecasts from the University of Michigan.
All told, at least 78 Michigan-based entities contributed to the mission, said Mark Ignash, director of strategic initiatives at Michigan’s Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation.
…The Michigan Economic Development Corp. is seeking proposals to establish the state’s first Space Innovation Hub. With up to $1.2 million budgeted for the first year, the hub is an early step towards connecting and growing the space-centered business in the state.
I shared this stunning photo of a plane flying across the April 8, 2024 eclipse taken in Flint by Morgan Andrew Somers two years ago. It was the third most popular photo of 2024, and for my money far and away the best pic of the eclipse taken from Michigan that I’ve seen & also kind of perfect for this post. Head over to the MASphoto Facebook for more including the answer to “is this photo fake” (no, it is not). View & purchase prints at morganandrewsomers.com!
Dancing Among the Clouds by Eric Hackney
If you ever wonder how the sausage is made on Michigan in Pictures, it often goes a lot like this morning. I was about to repost Eric’s gorgeous photo of the Portage Lift Bridge from April 8, 2017 (seen below) when I stumbled on images from NASA’s Artemis II mission. Thoughts of astronauts looking down on us made me want to look up. That sent me to the Absolute Michigan photo group on Flickr to find a recent moon photo, and who should have a recent & perfect photo but Eric Hackney!!
For sure follow Eric on Flickr or Facebook for his latest and view & purchase his work on his website.
🏆 CHAMPS 🏆 by University of Michigan Men’s Basketball
Michigan Men’s Basketball shares that the top seeded and No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men’s basketball team took down No. 7-ranked UConn last night by a score of 69-63 to secure their second NCAA championship. They share that in addition to the national championship, the Wolverines won the Big Ten championship with a 19-1 record, had the Big Ten Player of the Year (consensus All-American Yaxel Lendeborg), the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (7′ 3″ center Aday Mara), and Big Ten Coach of the Year Dusty May.
Unsurprisingly, fans took to the streets of Ann Arbor following the win as you can see in the photos mLive shared. While there were some reports of fires, it looks like it was mostly couches with no serious damage (other than to the couches).
PS: I promise that even though there have been three straight sports posts, this isn’t a sports blog – the state of Michigan is just having a moment right now!
Daniss Jenkins stepping up by Montez Miller & Tell Us Detroit
I was tempted to feature a photo from Detroit-based photographer & Michpics friend Montez Miller on my Detroit Tigers Opening Day post on Friday, but something told me I needed to hold off. That something turned out to be the Detroit Pistons who clinched their first Eastern Conference title since the 2006-07 season! ESPN shares how a gritty Pistons squad managed to seal the deal by going 7-2 after superstar & team leader Cade Cunningham went down with a scary lung injury.
All-Star center Jalen Duren has taken more of a central offensive role, averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds on 66% shooting since Cunningham went down. Reserve point guard Daniss Jenkins reemerged from a midseason slump to take advantage of increased playing time, with 19.3 points and over seven assists. On Saturday, Jenkins had 14 assists, one short of his career high.
“With Cade here, we were more relaxed, we knew we had more of a superstar to get us to wins,” Pistons swingman Ausar Thompson told ESPN. “But since he’s been gone, we all gathered around and knew we had to be more gritty, missing such a big piece. We had to make up for less offense on the defensive side.”
Here are a few more from Montez so we can get a pic of Cade in. For sure follow Montez Miller and Tell Us Detroit on Facebook for many (many) more along with all kinds of Detroit Tigers & other Motor City magic!
Lots more Detroit Pistons over the years on Michigan in Pictures!
Michigan in Pictures 