Weather - So....when does it melt lol (Detroit, Grand Rapids: quality of life, living in)

[canudigit]

Well, thank you for at least admitting that half of the days in April in SE Michigan are sunny and above 55! That is a far cry from what you described in your earlier posts. We live about an hour south of Royal Oak and further inland from the lake, so maybe that is why our averages tend to skew higher than those in Royal Oak. We have also had many, many Aprils with no snow in my lifetime, so that average seems high to me, but whatever.

I was just reading over an old post I had made here on C-D on April 13, 2011, in which I was exclaiming about how it was a gorgeous, sunny, spring day with green grass and the kind of temps where you can open your windows, and that following what was quite a cold and snowy winter. One day last April, we were dining al fresco at Bahama Breeze in Livonia, and that following just about the most brutal winter (across the entire eastern U.S.) in the history of keeping records. Go figure.

I do get it, I really do. I used to be just like you, I was a life long resident who hated it here and was convinced that life would be perfect if I could just live somewhere with mild winters. I also sought out reasons to hate Michigan and bash it at every opportunity. You know what cured this in me? Moving (fairly briefly, thank God!) to one of those far off, soulless, Sunbelt cities that is supposed to be so wonderful. The best thing this did for me was to make me appreciate what we have here. I literally wanted to kiss the ground when I stepped off the plane that brought us home. Live and learn. Besides, the name 'Sunbelt" is probably a bit of a misnomer, considering that there is snow and ice today in Myrtle Beach and widespread power outages due to snow and ice that are affecting thousands and thousands of people in Dallas/Fort Worth. I guess one would have to move at least to Florida to completely escape snow and ice, and Florida is a place that you could not pay me to live.

[michigan83]

Originally Posted by nomoresnow2015

April's average temperature in Royal Oak, MI, which is in Metro Detroit, is 55 degrees as a high, with a low of 35 degrees. All of this data is also available to you, right here on citydata.com. It even tells you that we get an average of 2 inches of snow in April. I remember times where we've gotten more than 2 inches. 52% sunshine in April is also not what I consider sunny; it's actually 10% less than the national average. I never said that 70+ degrees won't ever happen, I said it's not likely.

I'm not only being honest, I'm reporting on factual information found on this website. I'm happy that you love it so much here, good for you.

Do you understand how averages work?

If you had 15 days with a high of 40 degrees and 15 days with a high of 70 degrees, that would be an average of 55 degrees. That doesn't mean it's 55 degrees every day. This is pretty basic stuff.

Below is a link to the actual data for Royal Oak, MI. Notice that once you get past April 18, the average high is 60 degrees or above every day. The record high for every single day in April is at least 70 degrees. Most are in the 80's.

You're saying that 70 degrees isn't likely, but for half of April, the temp only has to be 5-10 degrees above average to hit 70.

The poster from Toronto understands the weather in Detroit much better than you do. The end.

Intellicast - Local Weather Forecast, Reports and Maps

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Not true. My birthday and my daughter's birthdays are in April, and most years we enjoy beautiful, sunny weather with fresh, new, bright green grass and buds on the trees. The day we brought her home from the hospital (in April!) it was 68 degrees and gorgeous outside.

You are calling out this person for inaccurately describing our weather, but you are the one who is not accurate. I have lived in this area for my entire life (almost 50 years) and my experience has been much more in line with what that poster described than what you describe.

We all get that you're not happy here, but you should still try to be honest.

im a april baby too

[DTWflyer]

Yep, as said, the bitter cold should start to retreat fairly soon. March will probably still be on the cold side this year, but the days of highs below zero or in the single digits should go away in the next 1-2 weeks.

In Michigan the Great Lakes dictate and moderate a lot of our weather patterns. We will likely again have a cooler spring because there is so much snowpack and ice cover on the Great Lakes. Think a gigantic ice cube almost like a mini-glacier. Its going to take some time to melt all of that and the ground is frozen very deep.

March:
High Temps should consistently be in the 30s-40s. Typically get swings well above and below normal, so a few days with highs in the 50s (maybe even hit 60) will likely happen and few days where it never gets out of the 20s either. Overnight lows are typically at or below freezing for the month, so we get into these periods of freeze/thaw.
We typically still see snow throughout March, but with higher sun angles and somewhat warmer temps it starts to melt back and off of the roads quicker. March 2012 was an extreme out-lyer where we shattered record temps for about 2-3 weeks in a row where we had an extreme warm period of high temps in the 70s & 80s. It literally went from winter to summer in about 2 weeks (then we had a very cold and wet April & May)

From about Mid-March through Mid/late April is what I refer to as "Mud Season" in Southeast Michigan. Borrowing a term from places out west, this is the time where the snow melts, the ground thaws, its muddy, it rains alot, and its generally rather gross out until things start to green-up and dry-out in late April. It's that in-between time where its no longer really winter but not really spring yet either.

April starts to consistently see temps into the 40s-50s and starting to see more 60s toward the end of the month. We typically hit 70 at some point during the month during an above average warm spell. Typically see the last snow in early April, but its usually minor and only sticks around for a day or two. April tends to be a rainy month around Metro Detroit and frankly gets to be frustrating since its been like 6 months at this point since its been consistently nice out and we are inching for those warm days. If we get one of those nice, warm, sunny 70 degree days, you'll tend to see a lot of people duck out of work early.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

im a april baby too

Happy birthday two months early!

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by michigan83

Do you understand how averages work?

If you had 15 days with a high of 40 degrees and 15 days with a high of 70 degrees, that would be an average of 55 degrees. That doesn't mean it's 55 degrees every day. This is pretty basic stuff.

Below is a link to the actual data for Royal Oak, MI. Notice that once you get past April 18, the average high is 60 degrees or above every day. The record high for every single day in April is at least 70 degrees. Most are in the 80's.

You're saying that 70 degrees isn't likely, but for half of April, the temp only has to be 5-10 degrees above average to hit 70.

The poster from Toronto understands the weather in Detroit much better than you do. The end.

Intellicast - Local Weather Forecast, Reports and Maps

Thank you! I was SMH over this too. An Average of 55 means several days above 55, so what is so hard to understand about that?

OP, don't give up hope. If this is going to be your first spring and summer in Michigan, then you will soon see that we do have some very lovely weather for much of the year. In fact, during the dog days of August, you may even wish it were winter again, depending on how hot and humid it gets. Everything will get nice and green, and flowers will be blooming everywhere. The days will be shorts and tank top weather, while the evenings and nights will cool down just enough to make perfect sleeping weather. The summer season on the lakes will be in full swing, and you will see a lot of out of state license plates of tourists taking advantage of what our beautiful state has to offer. If you get a chance, get up to Traverse City and Mackinac Island anytime between late May and early September and you will see a few of the many reasons why we are so proud of our Big Mitten!

[North 42]

March is the month that starts to feel like spring. Normally the grass will begin to grow and green up again by the end of March, and spring bulbs start blooming in early March, like Corcus and Snowdrops, followed by Daffoldils in late March and early April. Leaves start to open in April, and are usually fully out by early May. This year I feel will be another slow start to spring unfortunately though!

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Happy birthday two months early!

You too I love the snow but I am soooo ready for spring

[mgkeith]

March! It's going to get warmer any time now!

[nomoresnow2015]

In terms of temperature, yes, you are correct. I made a mistake and was not thinking correctly. I'm sorry. I also looked at historical weather data for April from previous years, and there have been a few days that were 70+ degrees, each year.

But 52% sunshine is still not sunny to me, I'm sorry. So 48% of the time between sunrise and sunset in the month of April, the sun's rays will not reach the ground. Yes, it is 10% less than the national average for that month. If you think that's sunny, then that's fine. Also, the 2 inches of snow in April is still the average snowfall and you can't dispute that. Yes, I realize that 2 inches is not very much snow comparatively speaking.

I admit that our weather generally looks worse to me historically right now because we are in the middle of yet ANOTHER horribly cold winter. It does not feel like it will end. I'm the type of person who enjoys being outside and doing summer-related activities more than anything (baseball, biking, walking, golfing, etc.). You guys are okay with putting up with snow and subzero temperatures and I think that's great. Yeah, one of the reasons I'm moving is to get out of this weather. But I'm not naive enough to think that moving to a nice climate will be some kind of a magic pill. It will be more of a nice touch as I start a new life somewhere else. Besides, Michigan doesn't need me. I can't comprehend basic weather averages :].