[michsnowlvr]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

What seems to be different from when I was a kid is that now it snows and then melts in a day or two. When we were kids, it woudl snow and stay and then snow some more. Eventually you had quite a lot of snow to play in. We may be getting as much or more snow in total now, but it does not stick around and build up. Last year I ws not able to go sledding wihtthe kids once becuase it usually melted before the weekend. the few weekends we had enough snow for sledding I was away.

Actually, snowcover, too varied from winter to winter. For instance, the amount of days with snow on the ground here in 2010-11 was the most since 1981-82 and the 9th most on record. If you look at the top 5 "whitest" and "barest" winters, most of them were long ago.

5 winters with most snowcover days at Detroit
1977-78
1981-82
1947-48
1966-67
1911-12

5 winters with least snowcover days at Detroit
1936-37
1931-32
1918-19
1982-83
1952-53

The 3 most extreme examples of going from a very snowy, snowcovered winter, to a very mild, bare winter are:
1880-81 then 1881-82
1981-82 then 1982-83
2010-11 then 2011-12

I will say this...I dont know how old you are...but your memory may be correct based upon this: SE MI saw a very high number of above to well-above snowcover winters from 1973-74 through 1985-86. In this 13-year span, only 2 winters had sparse snowcover (1979-80 and 1982-83). Some of the others were some of the "whitest" this region has seen.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by michsnowlvr

Actually, snowcover, too varied from winter to winter. For instance, the amount of days with snow on the ground here in 2010-11 was the most since 1981-82 and the 9th most on record. If you look at the top 5 "whitest" and "barest" winters, most of them were long ago.

5 winters with most snowcover days at Detroit
1977-78
1981-82
1947-48
1966-67
1911-12

5 winters with least snowcover days at Detroit
1936-37
1931-32
1918-19
1982-83
1952-53

The 3 most extreme examples of going from a very snowy, snowcovered winter, to a very mild, bare winter are:
1880-81 then 1881-82
1981-82 then 1982-83
2010-11 then 2011-12

I will say this...I dont know how old you are...but your memory may be correct based upon this: SE MI saw a very high number of above to well-above snowcover winters from 1973-74 through 1985-86. In this 13-year span, only 2 winters had sparse snowcover (1979-80 and 1982-83). Some of the others were some of the "whitest" this region has seen.

Well I can remember back maybe as far as the late 1960s and we moved in 1988 and then came back in 2005. There was a storm in the 1970s where we got like 4' of snow in a day or two and everything was shut down for a week. We had no power. Cars were abandoned ont he roads, buried in snow and then crushed by plows or snowmobiles. THere was a freeway bridge where snow had drifeted up so high on the freeway, you could jump a snowmobile off the overpass and into the drift. It was fun until the snowmobile broke and parts went flying all over. We hd not though much about how you get home with a broken snowmmobile (no cell phones and no cars out). We finllay falgged down a passing snowmobiler to give us a ride home. In high chool and colege I raced in X-C skiiing and I could take off form our back door and ski 10 plus miles. Maybe one day a year you could do that in the past four or five years (if that).

[corgiloveTN]

SE MI is getting quite a bit of snow as we speak> Hang in there friends!!

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by michsnowlvr

I will say this...I dont know how old you are...but your memory may be correct based upon this: SE MI saw a very high number of above to well-above snowcover winters from 1973-74 through 1985-86. In this 13-year span, only 2 winters had sparse snowcover (1979-80 and 1982-83). Some of the others were some of the "whitest" this region has seen.

Yep, lot's of snow in the 70's and not just in Michigan:

"The Snowy Seventies
[SIZE=3]The potential impact of lake-effect snowfall in the Great Lakes region can best be illustrated by looking at the snowiest major cities in the United States in the 1970s, a decade known as the Snowy Seventies. The period was characterized by a drop in global air temperature and dramatic increase in snowfall across the Northern Hemisphere. In the Great Lakes region, three winters (1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78) particularly stand out which were characterized by very cold temperatures beginning in November and very strong north/northwesterly winds. Impacts may have been higher if not for the fact that Lake Erie and Lake Ontario froze mostly or completely over.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Buffalo, New York led the list with 2819 cm (1109.8 in) of total snowfall over the decade with Rochester, New York second at 2728 cm (1074 in). (The smaller city of Syracuse, New York recorded 3043.7 cm (1198.3 in).) The third on the list was Salt Lake City, Utah at 2078.5 cm (818.3 in), itself located on the shoreline of a large lake. Fourth was Albany, New York -- 1775.5 cm (699.1 in) -- and Cleveland, Ohio, sixth -- 1449.6 cm (570.7 in)."[/SIZE]

[michigan83]

Originally Posted by MUTGR

Yep, lot's of snow in the 70's and not just in Michigan:

"The Snowy Seventies
[SIZE=3]The potential impact of lake-effect snowfall in the Great Lakes region can best be illustrated by looking at the snowiest major cities in the United States in the 1970s, a decade known as the Snowy Seventies. The period was characterized by a drop in global air temperature and dramatic increase in snowfall across the Northern Hemisphere. In the Great Lakes region, three winters (1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78) particularly stand out which were characterized by very cold temperatures beginning in November and very strong north/northwesterly winds. Impacts may have been higher if not for the fact that Lake Erie and Lake Ontario froze mostly or completely over.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Buffalo, New York led the list with 2819 cm (1109.8 in) of total snowfall over the decade with Rochester, New York second at 2728 cm (1074 in). (The smaller city of Syracuse, New York recorded 3043.7 cm (1198.3 in).) The third on the list was Salt Lake City, Utah at 2078.5 cm (818.3 in), itself located on the shoreline of a large lake. Fourth was Albany, New York -- 1775.5 cm (699.1 in) -- and Cleveland, Ohio, sixth -- 1449.6 cm (570.7 in)."[/SIZE]

Yep. Not everyone realizes it, but the lake effect snow in New York is actually worse than what we get here in lower Michigan, due to a couple of different factors... mainly, the higher elevations in New York, and also the east-west length of Lake Ontario allows the air to spend more time over the water and pick up more moisture.

[Torn December]

Great post! Had the same question myself...

Potentially moving from Southeast North Carolina, where people are raking their front yards on Christmas Day in a pair of shorts and flip flops (most winters, not all), to the Southeast area of Michigan. Most likely we'll be moving between Nov 2013 and Jan 2014. I did grew up in Indiana, less than 6 hours from S.E. MI, and from the way most are describing it --sounds very familiar. I recall loving the snow, but after so long in North Carolina, I'm wondering if I didn't get spoiled with these mild winters. Thanks for the helpful post and responses!

-T

[Coldjensens]

I moved to Southern California for 18 years then back to Michigan. I find I do not dislike winters the way I used to, but it depends on the year. Last year I dreaded its coming and hated it when it arrived. This year I have enjoyed it quite a lot. Other years in the past were in between and sometimes I enjoyed even more than this year. It really depends on what you do and the age of your kids. It also depends a lot on your attitude as winter approaches.

[michsnowlvr]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

I moved to Southern California for 18 years then back to Michigan. I find I do not dislike winters the way I used to, but it depends on the year. Last year I dreaded its coming and hated it when it arrived. This year I have enjoyed it quite a lot. Other years in the past were in between and sometimes I enjoyed even more than this year. It really depends on what you do and the age of your kids. It also depends a lot on your attitude as winter approaches.

It is GORGEOUS outside tonight. How anyone can think snow is ugly is beyond me. Its also odd that our area has been hit harder than those north of town. Snow depths to the north of us in Saginaw and Flint are just 1-2"....while we have 5-6" of glistening powder covering our lawns. Actually this is like the lake effect they get up north in the snowbelt. We have had 10" of snow fall the last 5 days but 5-6" on the ground. Thats how some in the snowbelt will see 50" fall in a week but end with a 20" depth....the fluff settles.

[michigan83]

Originally Posted by michsnowlvr

It is GORGEOUS outside tonight. How anyone can think snow is ugly is beyond me. Its also odd that our area has been hit harder than those north of town. Snow depths to the north of us in Saginaw and Flint are just 1-2"....while we have 5-6" of glistening powder covering our lawns. Actually this is like the lake effect they get up north in the snowbelt. We have had 10" of snow fall the last 5 days but 5-6" on the ground. Thats how some in the snowbelt will see 50" fall in a week but end with a 20" depth....the fluff settles.

Yeah, this latest round of snow has been beautiful, the "fluffy stuff." I think it would technically be considered "lake enhanced snow" since it came from a synoptic system that moved over the lake and picked up extra moisture. When that happens, the "fluffy stuff" can make it all the way to the Detroit area. It is nice to look at, that is for sure. This week is as good as it gets for winter weather.

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

yes I am loving it