Michigan’s Tricky Spring Weather
We have a saying in Michigan that goes, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. It will change.”
The weather here is always unpredictable, thanks to the influence of the four Great Lakes that surround our pleasant peninsulas. In winter, their waters spawn blustery lake effect snowstorms. In summer, they stop dead in their tracks ferocious thunderstorms barreling toward us from the Great Plains. In fall, the lakes whip up gales strong enough to sink burly freighters. But never are the lakes more fickle, or the climate more erratic, than in spring. Often it seems like the days following the Vernal Equinox in Michigan are part of one long April Fool’s joke played on us by Mother Nature.
In winter, Michiganders dress in layers to keep warm. In spring, we layer up, so we can peel them off when we start to sweat at lunchtime. Sometimes a spring morning that starts with frost, or even snow, ends with a balmy evening stroll on the beach. We have another adage here that says, “Michigan, the only place where you can experience all four seasons in one day.” I’ve sent my children to school in April wearing snow pants, only to have them get off the bus in shirtsleeves in the afternoon.
Chilly mornings and warm afternoons continue making for a lot of extra laundry well into late spring. Consider May 19, 2013. Around noon temperatures were in the low 50s. By 6 pm, the mercury was up to a steamy 86 degrees. That 30 degree temperature swing was 15 degrees above the average high for the day. It was also one of largest, quickest warm ups in the state’s recorded weather history. The next day was hot again, and severe thunder storms, fueled by the early spring heat, rolled across the state.
These dramatic, hourly temperature changes lead to Michiganders sporting attire viewed as odd in other parts of the country. Often in the spring, you’ll see us wearing shorts and flip-flops topped off with a sweatshirt. We might even throw on a winter coat if it’s really cold. Women and girls wear sweaters over all those cute, sleeveless Easter dresses, and sandals are eschewed for tall fashion boots. Or maybe winter boots. More than once my kids went Easter egg hunting in the snow. Those brightly colored eggs are much easier to find against an icy, white backdrop.
One of Michigan’s worst spring snowstorms occurred in early May of 1923. Temperatures were in the 60s at lunch time on May 8th, normal for that time of year. By dinner time, it was only 30 degrees outside. Rain and freezing rain began to fall over the Lower Peninsula. By the morning of May 9th, Northern Lower Michigan was covered in snow. Totals ranged from six inches to as much as a foot! But by the next evening, all the snow was completely melted, and spring was back!
It isn’t always snow that surprises us. In 2012, spring temperatures were inconsistently consistent. For 15 days in a row, beginning on March 10th, the entire state of Michigan experienced temperatures well-above average. High temperature records were broken all over both peninsulas with temperatures reaching into the mid-80s some places for several days in row. Those highs were as much 50 degrees above average. In fact, during that period, there were days that the low temperature was greater than the previous record high for that day!
This spring heatwave came after very snowy winter. Michiganders were a little bewildered, but that didn’t keep us from making the most of this unexpected gift. Snow skis were quickly traded for bicycles, and for once we didn’t need to wear a sweatshirt with our shorts.
Spring in Michigan may be freezing. Or it may be sweltering. Sometimes it’s just right. With all this wild weather, one thing it is not is dull!
