[michsnowlvr]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

A wise person told me that if you live here, you need to learn to grab hold of winter, get involved in wniter activities and enjoy the winter, or get out of this climate. If you just "get through" the winter, you will spend half or more of your life just getting by and never have the opportunity to live.

I do enjoy winter, but i like it better with snow. The last few years in our area we ahve had very little snow, but lots of cold winds. I enjoy cold days with no winds. I love being outside on a calm cold day. But when we get a negative wind chill factor, I have to admit that I do tend to stay inside, hunker down near a fireplace and just get through the day.

Im surprised you would say that after last winter. The winter of 2007-08 was one of the snowiest on record in the state. The heavy snowfall brought Lake levels back to normal from near record lows. Oakland county ran out of salt. And Detroit saw its 4th snowiest winter in 140 years of record keeping, with 72 inches. Flint and Saginaw had around 80 inches. If only all winters could be this way!

[michsnowlvr]

Originally Posted by magellan

I think it's more the wind chill.

Bingo. Chicago averages about 2.5 degrees colder than Detroit in winter, but Detroit averages a little more snow (avg snow in Detroit is 44" versus Chicagos 38").

[Jasmin71]

I normally dont write here BUT, I am tired of this .
We did the winter sports and all that, even then 4+ months of winter got old.
Heating bills are WORSE then ever.... We own our Place, trying to sell here in Michigan is a JOKE! We are stuck here. Its not as easy to just leave here.
I lived here for 16 years and my Hubby grew up here....
We did the halloween in the snowsuit, Easter Egg Hunt in the Snow, Ice storms who would ice up the roads for WEEKS, Snow that would stop Traffic/ Block roads. Winchills who would take youre Breath...

I am just tired of hearing all the whining about the whining... not all of us have the Option of just LEAVING!

And no I dont HATE winter, I just dont like it...... dont like the COLD that comes with it.

So go ahead and flame me and all, as I know you will.
Because if you DONT LOVE LOVE LOVE Michigan Winter, youre just a whiner ! Well in youre Eyes anyway !

[MICoastieMom]

Jasmine,

You need a hobby, dear. Lots of Michigan women quilt in the winter. You can stay inside, where it is warm and look out the window at all the pretty snow. The best part is that quilt, batting, and all will keep you toasty warm while it is sitting in your lap being quilted. No one is going to press you to go outside when you are occupied with making somene's wedding present or baby shower gift or graduation present. Lots of reasons you have to stay inside and meet that deadline.

[Jasmin71]

I can not quilt I have Arthritis in my Hands. But thanks lol....
And I tried quilting before and I just dont have the Patience hahah

I do scrapbooking a bit, and read a lot.... also bake a lot.
Its not like I just sit on my butt.... hahaha

[crazyme4878]

I'm the other way around--ever have to live through a summer with temperatures constantly in the mid to high 90's? I don't like being holed up either. This is my first summer in Arizona and I was depressed for much of it--not "oh this sucks" depression, but out and out depression. I couldn't step outside without instantly sweating. Even doing housework in the evening would have me sweating.

I would take the cold, snowy winter far over the heat of an AZ summer. I can actually go outside and do things, and if I don't want to, inside feels cozy and snuggly.

[Peter B]

Traverse City is WAY better than Chicago during winter. Much more snow, less traffic, snowmobiling, skiing, not to mention usually a bit warmer thanks to Lake Michigan. A few time last winter, temps were near 0 in Chicago while it was in the upper teens in Traverse City

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Yeah, its a whopping 1-2 degrees colder in Chicago than GR. The wind can whip at times, but it does so in MI, too. Id rather be somewhere like Chicago in winter than Traverse City.

Anyways, I agree with the OP's post. Either grow some big ol nuts and enjoy winter, or get out and go hang with the wimps elsewhere. You know the kind... the weenies who are afraid to have a little fun when the white stuff falls, too afraid to learn how to drive in snow, too whiny to want to go outside, too scared to pick up a winter sport that they just might enjoy.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by michsnowlvr

Im surprised you would say that after last winter. The winter of 2007-08 was one of the snowiest on record in the state. The heavy snowfall brought Lake levels back to normal from near record lows. Oakland county ran out of salt. And Detroit saw its 4th snowiest winter in 140 years of record keeping, with 72 inches. Flint and Saginaw had around 80 inches. If only all winters could be this way!

I did not see much snow last winter. Lots of cold, but not too much snow. There were a few weeks were we had a foot or so on the ground, but then it melted right away. I was away in California for several weeks, so maybe I missed most of the snow. We had a hard time finding weekends to go sledding. We have never been able to use the toboggan that I bought for the kids when we moved here in 2005. I only needed to shovel out the driveway twice the entire winter.

The big thing is that the snow does not last. We may have gotten a lot of snow at a time last year, but it melted. When I was a kid, there seemed to be a lot more snow that stayed on the ground. We got an inch, then another inch, and so on. Eventually there was deep snow. I could X-C ski all winter. Last year, it snowed hard a few times, but then it melted right away. We only had a few weekends with sufficient snow this past year. I saw more mud this past winter than snow.

[michsnowlvr]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

I did not see much snow last winter. Lots of cold, but not too much snow. There were a few weeks were we had a foot or so on the ground, but then it melted right away. I was away in California for several weeks, so maybe I missed most of the snow. We had a hard time finding weekends to go sledding. We have never been able to use the toboggan that I bought for the kids when we moved here in 2005. I only needed to shovel out the driveway twice the entire winter.

The big thing is that the snow does not last. We may have gotten a lot of snow at a time last year, but it melted. When I was a kid, there seemed to be a lot more snow that stayed on the ground. We got an inch, then another inch, and so on. Eventually there was deep snow. I could X-C ski all winter. Last year, it snowed hard a few times, but then it melted right away. We only had a few weekends with sufficient snow this past year. I saw more mud this past winter than snow.

Where did you move from in 2005? If it was a snowier clime (or if you were in CA in Feb or Mar), that explains why this past winter did not seem to have too much snow.

Im a weather observer for the weather service, I take rain and snow measurments in Wyandotte. The entire season last year from Nov-Mar totaled 78 inches of snow (well above the normal of 40-45"), but also we had more frequent thawing than usual, so the snow was never deeper than a foot at any one time on the ground.

A big 10 inch snowstorm in mid-Dec melted on Christmas Eve, and January featured several light snowfalls of 1-4", but nothing heavy, and also a very big thaw the 2nd week of the month. What really made last winter exceptionally snowy was February and March . The two months combined for 51 inches of snow (the average for Feb-Mar combined is 16"). While snowfall was very frequent and cold persistant through most of Feb, the snow was not particularly heavy, until two 5" snowstorms just 3 days apart closed out the month. March opened with deep snow, but it all melted under another of those freakish thaw days right ahead of a 10-inch snowstorm on Mar 4/5. A 4" snowstorm followed a few days later...and this snowcover slowly melted by Spring. But then a 7" snowstorm came on Good Friday, leaving a white Easter, and just as this melted, one final snowstorm (5") came at the end of March.

Summarizing- last winter featured a lot of snow, but WAY too many thaws!

[nessatar]

Originally Posted by michsnowlvr

Summarizing- last winter featured a lot of snow, but WAY too many thaws!

Very true! My husband works in forestry and he was troubled by all of the thaws last year. The best time to harvest timber is when the ground is frozen solid and that NEVER happened last winter. It's the least messy and the least destructive to the ecosystem at that time. It's hard to believe that lower Michigan's ground did not freeze! It's a very bad trend for Michigan's timber industry.