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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