Climatological Report (Monthly)
Issued by NWS Marquette, MI

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000
CXUS53 KMQT 012127
CLMMQT

CLIMATE REPORT...PRELIMINARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI
430 PM EST FRI FEB 1 2013

...................................

...THE MARQUETTE MI CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 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              53   01/26/1973
 LOW              -32   01/09/1977
HIGHEST            42   01/12        20      22       41  01/10
                                                          01/09
                                                          01/06
LOWEST            -18   01/22         3     -21      -12  01/20
AVG. MAXIMUM     23.0              21.9     1.1     26.5
AVG. MINIMUM      8.4               5.2     3.2     12.1
MEAN             15.7              13.6     2.1     19.3
DAYS MAX >= 90      0               0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MAX <= 32     22              26.3    -4.3       23
DAYS MIN <= 32     31              31.0     0.0       31
DAYS MIN <= 0       7              10.5    -3.5        5

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM         6.61   1997
 MINIMUM         0.61   1965
TOTALS           2.76              2.41    0.35     2.68
DAILY AVG.       0.09              0.08    0.01     0.09
DAYS >= .01        18              17.3     0.7       16
DAYS >= .10        10               7.1     2.9        6
DAYS >= .50         1               0.9     0.1        1
DAYS >= 1.00        0               0.2    -0.2        0
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL    0.80   01/30 TO 01/31

SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
 TOTAL           91.7   1997
TOTALS           42.7              43.2    -0.5     48.5
SINCE 7/1        92.0             116.5   -24.5     93.9
SNOWDEPTH AVG.     13                19      -6       17
DAYS >= 1.0        10              11.6    -1.6       11
GREATEST
 SNOW DEPTH        27   01/31                         25  01/29
                                                          01/25
                                                          01/24
 24 HR TOTAL     17.0   01/30 TO 01/31

DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL    1523              1595     -72     1412
 SINCE 7/1       4896              5237    -341     4583
COOLING TOTAL       0                 0       0        0
 SINCE 1/1          0                 0       0        0
.................................................................

WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED              MM
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION    MM        DATE   MM
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION    40/270    DATE  01/09

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               0
HEAVY RAIN                0     RAIN                       0
LIGHT RAIN                3     FREEZING RAIN              0
LT FREEZING RAIN          5     HAIL                       0
HEAVY SNOW                1     SNOW                       6
LIGHT SNOW               22     SLEET                      0
FOG                       4     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.

&&

...JANUARY 2013 MONTHLY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR UPPER MICHIGAN...
(THIS DISCUSSION DOES NOT INCLUDE CHIPPEWA AND MACKINAC COUNTIES)

...MEAN MONTHLY TEMPERATURE ABOVE NORMAL...

...GENERALLY ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION...

...GENERALLY NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL SNOWFALL...

JANUARY CLIMATE STATISTICS FOR THE MARQUETTE NWS IN NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP

                                    NORMAL   DEPARTURE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE         15.7     13.6   PLUS    2.1
AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE    23.0     21.9   PLUS    1.1
AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE      8.4      5.2   PLUS    3.2
HEATING DEGREE DAYS         1523     1595  MINUS     72
COOLING DEGREE DAYS            0        0             0
TOTAL PRECIPITATION         2.76     2.41   PLUS   0.35
TOTAL SNOWFALL              42.7     43.2  MINUS    0.5

HIGHEST TEMPERATURE:                    42 ON 1/12
LOWEST TEMPERATURE:                    -18 ON 1/22
GREATEST CALENDAR DAY PRECIPITATION:  0.69 ON 1/30
GREATEST 24 HOUR PRECIPITATION:       0.80 ON 1/30-1/31
GREATEST CALENDAR DAY SNOWFALL:       14.3 ON 1/30
GREATEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL:            17.0 ON 1/30-1/31
PEAK WIND SPEED:      40 MPH FROM THE WEST ON 1/9
MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH:                     27 ON 1/31

DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON 1/11...32 (OLD RECORD
                                                     27...2007)
DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE TIED ON 1/21...-3 (-3...1963)
DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON 1/28...27 (25...1989)
DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON 1/29...27 (25...1993/2006)
DAILY RECORD PRECIPITATION ON 1/30...0.69 (0.34...2001)
DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL ON 1/30...14.3 (6.0...1984)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
     GREAT LAKES WATER LEVELS (FEET/METERS ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL)

MORE TO COME LATER.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                     JANUARY CLIMATE HIGHLIGHTS

MORE TO COME LATER.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SOME OTHER TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION OBSERVATIONS ACROSS UPPER
MICHIGAN IN JANUARY 2013 INCLUDE:

ONTONAGON...AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 19.5 (2.7 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL)
 (6 MILES   PRECIPITATION 3.45 INCHES (0.60 INCH ABOVE NORMAL)
  INLAND)   SNOWFALL 60.0 INCHES (6.6 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL)

TWIN LAKES (HOUGHTON COUNTY)...AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 14.9 DEGREES
                               PRECIPITATION 4.44 INCHES
                               SNOWFALL 72.9 INCHES

HOUGHTON COUNTY...AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 18.0 (2.5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL)
 AIRPORT


MOHAWK (KEWEENAW COUNTY)...PRECIPITATION 4.59 INCHES
                           SNOWFALL 74.5 INCHES

WATTON (BARAGA COUNTY)...AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 15.5 DEGREES
                         PRECIPITATION 1.52 INCHES
                         SNOWFALL 17.9 INCHES

MUNISING...AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 19.5 (1.6 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL)
           PRECIPITATION 3.74 INCHES (0.47 INCH ABOVE NORMAL)
           SNOWFALL 54.9 INCHES (11.6 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL)

STAMBAUGH (IRON COUNTY)...AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 14.2 DEGREES
                          PRECIPITATION 1.44 INCHES
                          SNOWFALL 13.5 INCHES

MANISTIQUE...AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 20.0 (2.4 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL)
             PRECIPITATION 2.28 INCHES (0.71 INCH ABOVE NORMAL)
             SNOWFALL 30.0 INCHES (9.0 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL)

                      JANUARY WEATHER SUMMARY

MORE TO COME LATER.

                         FEBRUARY FORECAST

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) IS FORECASTING AN EQUAL CHANCE
OF AN ABOVE AND BELOW NORMAL MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE AND MONTHLY
PRECIPITATION OVER ALL OF UPPER MICHIGAN IN FEBRUARY 2013.

                       FEBRUARY CLIMATOLOGY

ALTHOUGH DAYLIGHT LENGTHENS NOTICEABLY DURING FEBRUARY (580 MINUTES
OF POSSIBLE SUNSHINE ON 2/1 TO 664 MINUTES ON 2/28)...WINTER USUALLY
MAINTAINS ITS ICY GRIP ON UPPER MICHIGAN DURING THE MONTH. IN
FACT...THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE DURING THE YEAR OFTEN OCCURS IN THE
SECOND MONTH. HUMBOLDT IN MARQUETTE COUNTY OBSERVED A FRIGID -49 LOW
ON THE MORNING OF 2/10/1899...THE LOWEST READING EVER RECORDED IN
UPPER MICHIGAN. THE FREQUENT ARRIVAL OF ARCTIC AIRMASSES CAN STILL
CAUSE TEMPERATURES TO PLUNGE AS LOW AS 25 TO 35 BELOW ZERO EVEN
DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH. THE COLDEST FEBRUARIES IN RECENT
MEMORY WERE IN 2003 AND 1994...WHEN TEMPERATURES ACROSS UPPER
MICHIGAN AVERAGED 6 TO 9 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. DURING FEBRUARY
1994...THE MEAN TEMPERATURE AT IRONWOOD WAS A BRUTAL 6.5 DEGREES.
BUT THAT WAS WARM COMPARED TO FEBRUARY 1936...WHEN IRONWOOD`S
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS -0.5 DEGREES. FEBRUARY 2003 RANKS AS THE
COLDEST AT MICHIGAN TECH UNIVERSITY (AVERAGE TEMPERATURE 8.7
DEGREES) AND IN THE TOP FIVE COLDEST AT MUNISING...THE MARQUETTE
NWS...AND IRON MOUNTAIN. MORE RECENTLY...INTENSE COLD PREVAILED
THROUGH MUCH OF FEBRUARY 2007...WHEN THE MONTHLY MEAN TEMPERATURE
RAN 4 TO 8 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE. THAT MONTH WAS ONE OF THE TOP TEN
COLDEST FEBRUARYS AT ONTONAGON...IRONWOOD...MANISTIQUE...MUNISING...
MARQUETTE CITY AND THE MARQUETTE NWS.

BUT THE CONTINUED CLIMB OF THE SUN IN THE SOUTHERN SKY PROMISES THE
END OF WINTER IS IN SIGHT AND THAT SPRINGTIME IS GETTING CLOSER.
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES RISE STEADILY AFTER THE FIRST WEEK OF THE
MONTH...FROM 12 ON 2/7 TO 17 ON 2/28 AT THE MARQUETTE NWS. DURING
THE LAST HALF OF FEBRUARY...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES REACH WELL INTO
THE 50S AND 60S. AT MANY SITES...FEBRUARY 1998...1999...2000 AND
2002 ALL FALL INTO THE TOP 10 WARMEST ON RECORD. IN FEBRUARY 2000...
RECORD WARMTH AFTER 2/21 CAUSED RAPID SNOW MELT...AND ICE JAM
FLOODING WAS OBSERVED ON THE ONTONAGON RIVER. IN FACT...THE
TEMPERATURE AVERAGED 39.3 DEGREES BETWEEN 2/22/2000 AND 2/29/2000 AT
THE MARQUETTE NWS...MARKING THIS 8-DAY PERIOD AS THE WARMEST WEEK IN
THE SECOND MONTH SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1961. BUT AT MOST LOCATIONS
IN UPPER MICHIGAN...FEBRUARY 1998 GOES DOWN IN THE RECORD BOOKS AS
THE WARMEST FEBRUARY EVER. TEMPERATURES AT SOME PLACES ENDED THE
MONTH AS MUCH AS 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AS A STRONG EL NINO AND
ZONAL PACIFIC FLOW ALOFT PREVENTED THE NORMAL PARADE OF ARCTIC
AIRMASSES FROM INVADING THE UPPER GREAT LAKES.

AVERAGE SNOWFALL OVER UPPER MICHIGAN DURING FEBRUARY IS LESS THAN IN
JANUARY AS THE MEAN POSITION OF THE JET STREAM AND STORM TRACK MOVES
A BIT FARTHER SOUTH. FALLING LAKE SUPERIOR WATER TEMPERATURES AND
THE FORMATION OF ICE ON THE LAKE SOME YEARS ALSO REDUCE THE
INTENSITY OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW. EVEN SO...THERE IS A SHARP DECREASE
IN AVERAGE SNOWFALL FROM AREAS NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR TO INLAND
LOCATIONS ALONG THE WISCONSIN BORDER. WHILE HOUGHTON TYPICALLY
TALLIES ALMOST 33 INCHES OF THE WHITE STUFF...IRON MOUNTAIN WILL LOG
ONLY 10 INCHES DURING A TYPICAL FEBRUARY. ALTHOUGH MONTHLY
TEMPERATURES AVERAGED WELL ABOVE NORMAL...FEBRUARY 2002 WILL LONG BE
REMEMBERED FOR HEAVY PRECIPITATION AND SNOWFALL...ESPECIALLY IN THE
LAKE EFFECT SNOW BELTS. VERY MILD WEATHER INTO FEBRUARY THAT WINTER
MAINTAINED LAKE SUPERIOR TEMPERATURES WELL ABOVE NORMAL...SO THAT
HEAVIER THAN USUAL LAKE EFFECT AND LAKE ENHANCED SNOW ACCOMPANIED A
GREATER THAN AVERAGE NUMBER OF SYNOPTIC STORMS. THE 91.9 INCHES OF
SNOW THAT FELL AT THE MARQUETTE NWS THAT MONTH PUSHES FEBRUARY 2002
TO THE TOP OF THE LIST OF NOT ONLY THE SNOWIEST FEBRUARY...BUT ALSO
THE SNOWIEST CALENDAR MONTH. THE 5.35 INCHES OF LIQUID EQUIVALENT
PRECIPITATION THAT FELL AT THAT LOCATION EASILY ECLIPSED THE
PREVIOUS STANDARD OF 3.62 INCHES OBSERVED IN FEBRUARY 1971. MANY
LOCATIONS FROM IRONWOOD TO NEWBERRY ALSO RECORDED A TOP FIVE
SNOWIEST AND WETTEST FEBRUARY IN 2002. DURING THE COLD FEBRUARY OF
1989...THE HOUGHTON COUNTY AIRPORT RECORDED 89.8 INCHES OF SNOW. NOT
ONLY IS FEBRUARY 1998 THE WARMEST AT MANY LOCATIONS...IT IS ALSO THE
LEAST SNOWY AT MANISTIQUE (1.0 INCH)...IRONWOOD (2.8 INCHES)...
ONTONAGON (5.0 INCHES)...AND THE HOUGHTON COUNTY AIRPORT (5.5
INCHES). MONTHLY SNOWFALLS OF 3.0 INCHES AT NEWBERRY AND 8.8 INCHES
AT MUNISING PLACE FEBRUARY 1998 AMONG THE TOP FIVE LEAST SNOWY.

                        OUTLOOK FOR SPRING

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC) IS FORECASTING A GREATER THAN
CLIMATOLOGICAL CHANCE OF AN ABOVE NORMAL 3-MONTH AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
OVER THE EAST HALF OF UPPER MICHIGAN BUT EQUAL CHANCES OF AN ABOVE
NORMAL AND BELOW NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OVER THE WEST HALF
DURING MARCH THROUGH MAY 2013. THE CPC INDICATES THERE IS A GREATER
CHANCE OF ABOVE AVERAGE 3-MONTH PRECIPITATION OVER ALL OF UPPER
MICHIGAN IN MARCH THROUGH MAY.

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




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