- Warnings
- Observations
- Forecasts
- Text Messages
- Forecast Models
- Climate
- Weather Safety
- Education/Outreach
- Information Center
- Contact Us
RSS Feeds
Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Marquette, MI
Issued by NWS Marquette, MI
Versions:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
000 CXUS53 KMQT 030952 AAA CLMMQT CLIMATE REPORT...PRELIMINARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 555 AM EDT WED APR 3 2013 ................................... ...THE MARQUETTE MI CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2013... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1961 TO 2013 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 81 03/21/2012 LOW -30 03/03/2003 HIGHEST 47 03/29 33 14 81 03/21 LOWEST -4 03/14 14 -18 -4 03/05 03/04 AVG. MAXIMUM 29.4 34.7 -5.3 49.4 AVG. MINIMUM 13.0 13.8 -0.8 30.0 MEAN 21.2 24.2 -3.0 39.7 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 21 12.8 8.2 5 DAYS MIN <= 32 31 29.2 1.8 19 DAYS MIN <= 0 3 4.4 -1.4 1 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 6.08 1979 MINIMUM 0.28 2010 TOTALS 3.29 3.03 0.26 2.47 DAILY AVG. 0.11 0.10 0.01 0.08 DAYS >= .01 19 14.5 4.5 13 DAYS >= .10 8 7.2 0.8 4 DAYS >= .50 1 1.4 -0.4 1 DAYS >= 1.00 1 0.6 0.4 1 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.62 03/10 TO 03/11 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 83.1 2002 TOTALS 48.8 34.9 13.9 28.9 SINCE 7/1 182.6 187.3 -4.7 151.1 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 37 21 16 15 DAYS >= 1.0 11 7.2 3.8 4 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 43 03/19 47 03/04 03/13 03/17 24 HR TOTAL 16.4 03/10 TO 03/11 DEGREE_DAYS HEATING TOTAL 1350 1263 87 780 SINCE 7/1 7660 7887 -227 6561 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 4 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 4 ................................................................. WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED MM HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION MM DATE MM HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 40/315 DATE 03/19 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM AVERAGE SKY COVER MM NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR MM NUMBER OF DAYS PC MM NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY MM AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) MM WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 1 HEAVY RAIN 0 RAIN 0 LIGHT RAIN 4 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 8 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 3 SNOW 8 LIGHT SNOW 27 SLEET 1 FOG 2 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 0 HAZE 0 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. $$ ...MARCH 2013 MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR UPPER MICHIGAN... (THIS DISCUSSION DOES NOT INCLUDE CHIPPEWA AND MACKINAC COUNTIES) ...ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL... ...NINTH HIGHEST MARCH SNOWFALL AT THE MARQUETTE NWS... ...COLDER THAN NORMAL... MARCH CLIMATE STATISTICS FOR THE MARQUETTE NWS IN NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP NORMAL DEPARTURE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 21.2 24.2 MINUS 3.0 AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE 29.4 34.7 MINUS 5.3 AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE 13.0 13.8 MINUS 0.8 HEATING DEGREE DAYS 1350 1263 PLUS 87 COOLING DEGREE DAYS 0 0 0 TOTAL PRECIPITATION 3.29 3.03 PLUS 0.26 TOTAL SNOWFALL 48.8 34.9 PLUS 13.9 HIGHEST TEMPERATURE: 47 ON 3/29 LOWEST TEMPERATURE: -4 ON 3/4 AND 3/14 GREATEST CALENDAR DAY PRECIPITATION: 1.41 ON 3/11 GREATEST 24 HOUR PRECIPITATION: 1.62 ON 3/10-3/11 GREATEST CALENDAR DAY SNOWFALL: 14.4 ON 3/11 GREATEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL: 16.4 ON 3/10-3/11 PEAK WIND SPEED: 40 MPH FROM THE NORTHWEST ON 3/19 MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH: 43 ON 3/13...3/17...3/19 DAILY RECORD PRECIPITATION ON 3/11...1.41 (OLD RECORD 0.93...1973) DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL ON 3/11...14.4 (4.8...1993/2005) DAILY RECORD PRECIPITATION TIED ON 3/16...0.25 (0.25...1978) DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL ON 3/16...7.7 (5.1...1978) NINTH HIGHEST MARCH SNOWFALL...48.8 (RECORD 83.1...2002) --------------------------------------------------------------------- GREAT LAKES WATER LEVELS (FEET/METERS ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL) LAKE SUPERIOR LAKE MICHIGAN-HURON 3/01/13 DAILY MEAN 600.17/182.93 576.19/175.62 3/31/13 DAILY MEAN 600.04/182.89 576.25/175.64 AVG FEB 2013 DAILY MEAN 600.24/182.96 576.14/175.61 AVG MAR 2012 DAILY MEAN 600.17/182.93 577.42/176.00 LONG TERM MAR DAILY MEAN 601.10/183.23 578.40/176.30 MAXIMUM MAR DAILY MEAN 602.40/183.61 581.10/177.12 (1986) (1986) MINIMUM MAR DAILY MEAN 599.50/182.74 576.00/175.58 (1926) (1964) ...GREAT LAKES WATER LEVELS REMAIN WELL BELOW NORMAL IN MARCH... INCREASED EVAPORATION DUE TO VERY WARM LAKE WATERS AND A LACK OF SIGNIFICANT WINTER ICE HAS RESULTED IN WELL BELOW NORMAL GREAT LAKES WATER LEVELS FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. IN COMBINATION WITH DROUGHT THAT PLAGUED THE LOWER LAKES THROUGH MUCH OF 2012...THE WATER LEVEL ON LAKES MICHIGAN-HURON DROPPED TO JUST BELOW THE RECORD LOW IN NOVEMBER THROUGH JANUARY. INCREASED PRECIPITATION IN LATE JANUARY THROUGH MARCH HELPED RAISE WATER LEVELS TO 3 INCHES ABOVE THE RECORD LOW BY LATE MARCH. BUT LEVELS ON LAKES MICHIGAN-HURON WERE STILL ALMOST 26 INCHES BELOW THE LONG TERM AVERAGE AT THE END OF THE MONTH. AS IS TYPICAL IN MARCH...LAKE SUPERIOR WATER LEVELS FELL SLOWLY...HOLDING A BIT MORE THAN A FOOT BELOW NORMAL THROUGH 3/31. PERSISTENT COLD DURING THE SECOND HALF OF JANUARY...FEBRUARY...AND MARCH MAINTAINED SIGNIFICANT ICE COVER ON THE BAY OF GREEN BAY THROUGH MARCH. SLOWLY MODERATING TEMPERATURES IN LATE MARCH TENDED TO ALLOW FOR SOME RETREAT IN THE ICE COVERAGE. ICE COVER ON LAKE SUPERIOR WAS LIMITED TO MAINLY THE NEARSHORE AREAS AND IN THE MORE SHELTERED BAYS. OBTAIN GREAT LAKES WATER LEVEL DATA AS REPORTED BY THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS AT HTTP://WWW.LRE.USACE.ARMY.MIL/MISSIONS/GREATLAKESINFORMATION/ GREATLAKESWATERLEVELS/CURRENTCONDITIONS.ASPX (ALL LOWER CASE). --------------------------------------------------------------------- MARCH CLIMATE HIGHLIGHTS MORE TO COME LATER. --------------------------------------------------------------------- SOME OTHER TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION OBSERVATIONS ACROSS UPPER MICHIGAN IN MARCH 2013 INCLUDE: MORE TO COME LATER. --------------------------------------------------------------------- MARCH WEATHER SUMMARY MORE TO COME LATER. --------------------------------------------------------------------- APRIL FORECAST THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) IS FORECASTING AN EQUAL CHANCE OF AN ABOVE AND BELOW NORMAL MONTHLY MEAN TEMPERATURE AND ABOVE AND BELOW NORMAL MONTHLY PRECIPITATION OVER ALL OF UPPER MICHIGAN IN APRIL 2013. APRIL CLIMATOLOGY AS THE SUN CONTINUES ITS MARCH NORTHWARD DURING THE FOURTH MONTH OF THE YEAR...DAYLIGHT AND AVERAGE TEMPERATURES INCREASE STEADILY. THE DAILY POSSIBLE SUNSHINE INCREASES FROM 769 MINUTES ON 4/1 TO 860 MINUTES ON THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH. ON 4/1...NORMAL MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES AT THE MARQUETTE NWS ARE 41 AND 21...BUT REBOUND TO 55 AND 35 ON 4/30. MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT UPPER MICHIGAN ARE 12 TO 14 DEGREES HIGHER IN APRIL THAN IN MARCH. THE RELATIVELY COOL WATERS OF THE GREAT LAKES OFTEN KEEP TEMPERATURES NEAR THE SHORE DURING THE DAY MUCH LOWER THAN FARTHER INLAND. AVERAGE PRECIPITATION IN APRIL IS GREATER THAN IN MARCH OVER MUCH OF INTERIOR UPPER MICHIGAN...BUT GENERALLY LESS IN AREAS NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR AS THE RELATIVELY COOL WATERS INCREASE LOW LEVEL STABILITY AND REDUCE THE THREAT OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW AND CONVECTIVE SHOWERS. SNOWFALL DURING WARM AND/OR DRY APRILS ACROSS UPPER MICHIGAN IS OFTEN LESS THAN AN INCH. SUMMER-LIKE WEATHER CAN OCCUR DURING APRIL. RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES NEAR THE END OF THE MONTH GO ABOVE 90 IN SOME LOCATIONS...INCLUDING THE 94 AND 92 DEGREE READINGS OBSERVED AT IRON MOUNTAIN AND THE MARQUETTE NWS ON 4/22/80. ALTHOUGH APRIL 1987 IS THE WARMEST ON RECORD OR AT LEAST IN THE TOP FIVE WARMEST AT MANY PLACES...THE SECOND HALF OF APRIL 1990 STANDS OUT AS A PERIOD OF UNPRECEDENTED WARMTH. IN FACT...THE WEEK BETWEEN 4/22/90 AND 4/29/90 IS THE WARMEST ON RECORD AT ALL REPORTING STATIONS. TEMPERATURES DURING THIS WEEK AVERAGED AS HIGH AS 68 AT MUNISING AND THE MARQUETTE NWS...67 AT ONTONAGON...65 AT IRON MOUNTAIN...IRONWOOD AND MANISTIQUE...64 AT HOUGHTON AND 62 AT NEWBERRY. AT MANY OF THESE SITES... THE HIGHEST APRIL TEMPERATURE ON RECORD OCCURRED DURING THIS WEEK...INCLUDING 89 AT MUNISING (4/26/90) AND ONTONAGON (4/25/90)...88 AT HOUGHTON (4/25/90)...84 AT MANISTIQUE (4/26/90) AND 82 AT NEWBERRY (4/25/90). SEVEN OF THE 10 HIGHEST APRIL MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES RECORDED AT MANISTIQUE OCCURRED BETWEEN 4/23/90 AND 4/29/90. ALL OF THESE TEMPERATURES WOULD BE CONSIDERED NORMAL OR EVEN ABOVE NORMAL DURING MID SUMMER. WHEN APRIL TEMPERATURES SOAR QUICKLY WITH LINGERING DEEP WINTER SNOW COVER...SNOWMELT CAN CAUSE SERIOUS FLOODING...ESPECIALLY IF HEAVY RAINS FALL AROUND THE TIME OF WARMUP. IN 2002...THE COMBINATION OF DEEP EARLY APRIL SNOW COVER AND A FEW DAYS OF HEAVY RAIN BEFORE TEMPERATURES WARMED AS HIGH AS 80 TO 85 CAUSED DISASTROUS MID-APRIL FLOODING IN WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN. THE FLOODING WAS SO BAD IN GOGEBIC COUNTY THEN MICHIGAN GOVERNOR JOHN ENGLER DECLARED THAT COUNTY A DISASTER AREA AND DISPATCHED MICHIGAN NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO ASSIST WITH RECOVERY. ALTHOUGH SEVERE WEATHER IS UNCOMMON ACROSS UPPER MICHIGAN IN APRIL...AN OUTBREAK OF EARLY SEASON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ENDED THIS PREMATURE SUMMER WARMTH IN APRIL 2002. ALTHOUGH AVERAGE TEMPERATURES CLIMB QUICKLY IN APRIL AND SUMMER-LIKE HEAT SOMETIMES HERALDS THE COMING WARM SEASON...WINTER CAN RETURN WITH A VENGEANCE EVEN AT MONTHS END. RECORD HIGH MONTHLY SNOWFALL AT ALMOST ALL LOCATIONS EXCEPT THE SOUTHERN TIER COUNTIES IS 20 INCHES OR MORE. A HISTORIC BLIZZARD STRUCK THE NORTHERN COUNTIES OF UPPER MICHIGAN ON 4/3 INTO 4/8 IN 2007. THE COMBINATION OF LAKE ENHANCED SNOW AND NORTH WIND GUSTS AT OR ABOVE 50 MPH CAUSED WIDESPREAD BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ON 4/4 AND 4/5 THAT YEAR NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR. BY THE TIME THE SNOW ENDED EARLY ON 4/8/2007...AS MUCH AS 59.0 INCHES HAD FALLEN AT PAINESDALE IN HOUGHTON COUNTY. APRIL 2008 AND 2009 ALSO FEATURED HEAVY SNOW IN MANY LOCATIONS WITH SOME TOP 10 MONTHLY SNOW AMOUNTS. IN FACT...APRIL 2008 GOES DOWN IN THE RECORD BOOKS AT IRON MOUNTAIN AS THE SNOWIEST FOURTH MONTH ON RECORD WITH 19.5 INCHES OF THE WHITE STUFF. THE MERCURY HAS FALLEN AS LOW AS -12 AT IRONWOOD (4/7/82)...-9 AT THE MARQUETTE NWS (4/6/2003)...-7 AT MANISTIQUE (4/5/72)...-6 AT IRON MOUNTAIN (4/5/72)...-4 AT MUNISING (4/6/50)... -2 AT NEWBERRY (4/1/23) AND ZERO AT HOUGHTON (4/4/54) AND ONTONAGON (4/7/96). IRONWOOD HAS REPORTED TEMPERATURES WELL BELOW ZERO EVEN AFTER MID MONTH...-8 AND -5 ON 4/17/83 AND 4/18/83 RESPECTIVELY. APRIL 1995 AND 1996 WERE NOTORIOUSLY COLD ACROSS UPPER MICHIGAN WITH TEMPERATURES AVERAGING FIVE DEGREES OR MORE BELOW NORMAL...AND MANY PLACES COUNT THESE MONTHS IN THE TOP FIVE COLDEST APRILS ON RECORD. APRIL 1950 STANDS OUT AS VERY CHILLY AT STATIONS WITH A LONGER CLIMATE RECORD. THAT MONTH IS THE COLDEST APRIL AT NEWBERRY (AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 29.9)...IRON MOUNTAIN (32.3) AND MUNISING (31.3) AND IN THE TOP FIVE COLDEST AT IRONWOOD (31.0) AND MANISTIQUE (33.0). OUTLOOK FOR LATE SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) IS FORECASTING A GREATER THAN CLIMATOLOGICAL CHANCE OF AN ABOVE NORMAL 3-MONTH AVERAGE TEMPERATURE BUT AN EQUAL CHANCE OF ABOVE AND BELOW NORMAL 3-MONTH PRECIPITATION OVER ALL OF UPPER MICHIGAN IN MAY THROUGH JULY 2013. GO TO HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/CLIMATE/L3MTO.PHP TO ACCESS DETAILED LOCAL THREE-MONTH AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OUTLOOKS FOR A NUMBER OF SITES IN UPPER MICHIGAN. CHECK OUT HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER AND MORE LONG RANGE PREDICTIONS. NOTE THAT STATISTICS FOR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP ARE BASED ON RECORDS WHICH BEGAN IN OCTOBER 1961. THIRTY YEAR NORMALS USED ARE FOR THE PERIOD OF 1981 THROUGH 2010. NOTE ALL TEMPERATURES ARE IN FAHRENHEIT AND PRECIPITATION IS IN INCHES. ALL CLIMATE DATA LISTED IN THIS PRODUCT ARE UNOFFICIAL. FOR OFFICIAL DATA...PLEASE REFER TO THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER. ALSO NOTE THIS DISCUSSION DOES NOT INCLUDE DATA FROM CHIPPEWA AND MACKINAC COUNTIES. NWS MARQUETTE WEB PAGE IS AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MQT (ALL LOWER CASE). CONTACT THE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER AT (828) 271-4800 OR WWW.NCDC.NOAA.GOV. $$ KC
- National Weather Service
- Detroit/Pontiac, MI Weather Forecast Office
- 9200 White Lake Road
- White Lake, MI 48386
- 248-620-9804
- Page Author: DTX Webmaster
- Web Master's E-mail: w-dtx.webmaster@noaa.gov
- Page last modified: May 1st, 2013 15:32 UTC