Thundersnow Season

Posted on by farlane
thundersnow aftermath by Christian Collins

thundersnow aftermath by Christian Collins

A reader commented that they had seen lightning & heard the rumble of thunder yesterday, an observation shared by numerous folks around the state. Although a lot of the online articles are hyping up thunder snow as a dangerous or abnormal phenomenon, it’s not.

The NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory’s Severe Weather 101 explains that although thunderstorms are less common in the winter, sometimes lightning does occur within a snowstorms and is called thundersnow. Thundersnow can be found where there is relatively strong instability and abundant moisture above the surface, such as above a warm front. Thundersnow is sometimes observed downstream of the Great Salt Lake and the Great Lakes during lake-effect snowstorms too.

Christian took this back in February if 2017. See more in his barns – graneros gallery on Flickr.

PS: If anyone in the Upper Peninsula captured yesterday’s thundersnow on video, the National Weather Service Marquette Office would love to see it!

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Wacky Weather Warning

Posted on by farlane
Cold as Ice by Tom Hughes

Cold as Ice by Tom Hughes

mLive’s Mark Torregrossa says that although states can have wacky temperature patterns in the heart of a storm system, Michigan is the only place we can mix those storm system temperatures with our mitten and our powerful lakes! Mark shares that warm air will move in from the south while an easterly and northeasterly wind will funnel frigid air from ice-covered Lake Huron over Northern Lower Michigan:

Somewhere around Saginaw, Bay City, Clare and Traverse City, we could have a big shock going from temperatures in the 50s to temperatures near freezing.

Imagine going from Ann Arbor to Bay City to visit family Wednesday afternoon. You open the door in Ann Arbor to see what it’s like outside. It’s a common ritual at this time of year. It’s very nice. It’s 61 degrees, which right now feels like a spring dream. So you put on a light jacket and start driving north. You get out of your car in Bay City, and you freeze.

Definitely a day to keep an eye on the updated forecast!!

Tom captured this ice covered beauty in Utica way back in 2015. See more in his Winter gallery on Flickr!

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Rain & possible “flash freeze” today in Michigan!

Posted on by farlane
Winter Water Drops by Superior Seasons

Winter Water Drops by Superior Seasons

The folks at Michigan Storm Chasers share a detailed statewide Michigan weather forecast every morning that you should definitely incorporate into your daily feed. On Facebook they share that although we will see temps above freezing for most of the state, even topping 50 degrees in southern Michigan, temps will drop later in the day, potentially precipitously in what is known as a “flash freeze”. A flash freeze happens when rain has fallen, completely stopped, and then shortly afterward air temperatures drop from the 40s or 50s down into the 20s or colder. Ryan explains is all in their excellent video.

Michael shared this photo 13 years & one day ago on December 17, 2012, remarking that it was strange to see rain in December in the UP. Here are a couple more he shared to our Absolute Michigan group on Flickr, and you can see more in his The UP Eh! gallery.

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Triple Dip Polar Vortex coming for Michigan

Posted on by farlane
Shark Attack - Triple X by Jill N. Hamilton-Krawczyk

Shark Attack – Triple X by Jill N. Hamilton-Krawczyk

Accuweather shares that much of the US and definitely Michigan is facing a rare “triple dip” polar vortex:

“This Arctic air outbreak can be attributed to a displacement of the polar vortex,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. “The outbreak this week will be the first of probably three such rounds with it. Another cold blast is likely next week and a third the week after that,” Pastelok explained. “The waves of Arctic air will lead to significant surges in energy demands.”

I originally shared this photo way back on April 1, 2010 along with a pretty funny spoof, and I am very happy to bring it back along with several more that Jill shared from The Heidelberg Project in Detroit, a truly astonishing work of activist art. See many more in her excellent Detroit gallery on Flickr & stay warm people!!

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Michigan Fall Color: Double Rainbow Edition

Posted on by farlane
Fall Color Tour in Northern Michigan Rainbow edition by James Eye View Photography

Fall Color Tour in Northern Michigan Rainbow edition by James Eye View Photography

mLive’s Mark Torregrossa shares that if you think there’s more rainbows out there than usual, you are correct! He explains the science behind Michigan’s rainbow bonanza:

To have rainbows, we need rain and sun at the same time. What weather pattern is classic for rain and sun at the same time? The current lake-effect rain shower situation is perfect for rainbows. The rain showers are small, maybe only five miles wide. There is a lot of clear sky around the rain showers.

…So we know why we have had and currently have a lot of rainbows in Michigan in the past few days- the spotty lake-effect showers combined with sunshine. But why have there been numerous double rainbows? It has to do with the angle of the sun, combined with the daily weather pattern.

For a double rainbow, the sun has to be fairly low on the horizon, lower than 40 degrees above the horizon. It just so happens the lake-effect showers reach their peak intensity and coverage during the late afternoon heating of the day, when the sun is low on the horizon.

James took these last Friday on the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. You can follow him on Facebook & Instagram. For sure visit his website to view & purchase his work including 2025 Photo Calendars.

Wildly enough, I featured Double Rainbow Sunrise from James last year – he clearly has a next level knack for rainbows!!

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What lies beneath might be a shipwreck

Posted on by farlane
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Aurora by Bob Gudas

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Aurora by Bob Gudas

Janelle D. James of Bridge Magazine wrote last week that Michigan is facing the worst drought in over a decade. Although we’ve gotten some much needed rain with more on the way, the Michigan Storm Chasers share that it probably won’t be enough to make a significant difference. Rather than bum you out with ways that drought sucks, let’s focus on this cool photo & story from when drought was even worse!

When Bob shared this photo in October of 2012 he wrote, “The remains of the Great Lakes steamer Aurora. The wreck recently became visible due to record low waters in Lake Michigan basin. The 300 foot wooden steamer was built in 1887 and burned to the waterline at this spot in 1932. The stern was subsequently covered with water where it remained until the drought of 2012. Approximately 2 weeks ago the water receded off of the wreck. This view shows approximately 200 feet of the wreck with another 100 feet being buried under a sand dune.

A Shipwreck World article on the Aurora add that the Aurora was significant as one of the last great wooden steamships: When launched by the Murphy and Miller of Cleveland on August 23, 1887, the 290-foot, steam-driven propeller was the largest and most powerfully built wooden vessel on the Great Lakes. The 3000-ton vessel was initially owned by John Corrigan of the Aurora Mining Company of Milwaukee which paid $150,000 for its construction. It was used to ship iron ore from the Gogebic Range Ironwood, Michigan, to Cleveland and coal from Cleveland on the return trip.

View & purchase Bob’s work on his website, and check out a seasonally appropriate pic in Autumn’s Rainbow: the colors of fall on Michigan in Pictures!

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Sunset on a steamy summer

Posted on by farlane
Steaming into Sunset by Diann*

Steaming into Sunset by Diann

Summer is pretty much in the books, and Fox 2 Detroit shares that Summer 2025 was a hot one for a unique reason that bodes poorly for our future:

Because the summer of 2025 is not over, it’s not included in the rankings. But as of Aug. 14, the average daily temperature is 74.3 degrees – making it one of the hottest.

Here’s the difference: this year’s overnight lows have been some of the highest ever. The region has dealt with multi-day periods of sustained heat unlike any other year.

“When people talk about how hot it was back in 88, they’re right to do so,” FOX 2’s meteorologist Derek Kevra said. “But what they got was some relief days. We have had very few relief days this year.”

In the summer of 1988, there were seven days when overnight lows fell into the 40s and 26 days with overnight lows in the 50s. The summer this year has had barely any nights when temperatures fell that low. That included a 150-hour stretch where temperatures didn’t even fall below 70 degrees. Over the entire month of July, only three days have fallen into the 50s.

This isn’t the first time I’ve shared Diann’s photo of the coal powered SS Badger steaming out of its home port of Ludington back on Labor Day 2008 & it won’t be the last! Here are a few others that I’ve featured over the years – see more in her Third Coast gallery on Flickr.

More Michigan-focused climate change posts on Michigan in Pictures.

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Macomb’s Miller mad about Canada’s smoke

Posted on by farlane
Smokey Belle Isle Sunset by Ryan Jake Jakubowski

Smokey Belle Isle Sunset by Ryan Jake Jakubowski

The Detroit News reports that as Michigan has extended its 10th air quality advisory of the season, Macomb County’s Candice Miller is calling on Canada to do more about wildfires that are degrading Michigan’s air quality:

“Breathing in the Canadian wildfires smoke cannot be the new normal,” said Candice Miller, Macomb County public works commissioner.

Since June, wildfires in Canada have caused decreased air quality in bordering states in the U.S., prompting the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to so far issue ten advisories warning against unhealthy breathing conditions. Miller called for U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra to press Canadian officials to increase efforts combating wildfires and improve forestry management.

“Ambassador Hoekstra needs to make some noise,” Miller said. “Smoke from Canada wildfires should not be a regular part or our summers but unfortunately that’s become the norm in our state and others. It’s unacceptable for our friends in Canada to simply say, ‘The fires will burn out’ or ‘Wait until December.’”

…During mid-afternoon on Thursday, the air quality index in central Macomb County was between 140 to 150, a range described as “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” “That description misses the mark, in my opinion. Smoke is unhealthy for all groups,” Miller said. At the same time in the Marquette area, the air quality index was 139, a day after measuring 161. In Seney, in the central portion of the Upper Peninsula, the reading was 160 during the morning of July 30, the highest in the state.

Ryan took these photos last night on Belle Isle at sunset. Click the pic above to follow Ryan & see more on Facebook and for sure check out J&C Photography to view & purchase his work and to hire him for photographic services including drone photography & some very cool 360 degree panoramas.

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Jellyfish Stormfront

Posted on by farlane

Jellyfish Stormfront by Tom Parrent

Tom shot this terrifying image of the August 2, 2015 superstorm from Traverse City’s Old Mission Peninsula. See more on his Facebook.

Check out a full retrospective on one of the strongest storms in Michigan’s modern history on Leelanau.com.

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Michigan Air Quality remains terrible

Posted on by farlane
Mackinac Bridge Haze July 14 by Riviera Motel of Mackinac City

Mackinac Bridge Haze July 14 by Riviera Motel of Mackinac City

The Huron Daily Tribune shares that the National Weather Service & Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy issued an air quality alert for elevated levels of fine particulate over the weekend:

“Pollutants across the state are expected to reach the very unhealthy to unhealthy range in northern locations, with ranges of unhealthy to (unhealthy for sensitive groups) further south,” according to the service. Wildfire smoke from Canada is pushing into Michigan from till Monday. Increased fine particulate levels reached the western portion of the Upper Peninsula on Saturday afternoon.

You can read more in the Tribune & also check out an interactive map of Michigan air quality from the Manistee News.

This zoomed in view of the live Mackinac Bridge webcam at the Riviera Motel shows how much the smoke from wildfires is impacting the view of the Bridge this morning in Mackinac City.

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