GRAND RAPIDS, MI. — It’s safe to say we’re in the heart of the winter with more snow and cold sure to follow. That said, snow totals thus far this season are more than four times what they were in mid-January in 2013. Keep in mind 2013 was quite the mild winter, but here’s the numbers.
The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has been keeping records since the late 1800s at three major reporting stations here in West Michigan. They include GR, Muskegon, and Lansing. Through January 14, 2014, Grand Rapids has tallied 53.9″ of snow. Normal/average amounts are 39.8″. Last year at the same time we had only 9.6″. 51.7″ came since December 1, 2013.
In Muskegon 63.1″ has been recorded this season. Normal/average amounts are 48.6″, and we had only 9.0″ at the same time last year. 54.2″ occurred since December 1, 2013.
In Lansing 32.3″ has fallen thus far. 23.6″ is normal/average, and Lansing had only tallied 5.8″ at this time last year. 31.6″ has occurred since December 1, 2013.
During a normal/average winter Grand Rapids generally sees about 75ish inches. At this point, we’re well on track to exceed that with two more weeks of January, and all of February and March left. Perhaps we can hang our hats on the fact that our days continue to get longer. Sunrise is at 8:10 AM and sunset is about 5:33 PM.
Another brief brush of Arctic air look possible next week Tuesday/Wednesday, but it appears as if it will NOT be as cold as the previous one. Stay up with the latest forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
