[sweetpot]

We currently live in northern Michigan ,but are planning to move to Omaha area to be closer to my sons. Is there much difference in the climate? The summers have been quite hot and humid here. What is like there?

[harshbarj]

It gets much hotter here in summer on average and winters are normally a little warmer. 100° days are not uncommon in summer. Depending on where in northern Michigan you are, snowfall here can be about equal to a lot less than you are use to as Omaha averages less than 30” a year. Omaha has hot and humid summers with cool to cold but relatively dry winters, with most months getting less than 6 inches of snow on average. Sometimes you can get a freak storm that drops a foot or more, but they are rare.

[GraniteStater]

It is the SUNBELT in Omaha compared to Michigan. That an be a positive or negative for you. Snowfall- not too much. The air is very dry most of the time during the winter- unlike Michigan. Be prepared for the wind, though! The dry windy cold can be brutal. However, it is fairly sunny much of the time. Nebraska is in the top 10-15 states for most days of sun on average.

[MountainMen]

The climate of Omaha is more extreme in nearly every direction. Hotter summer, colder winter, more wind, more sun, etc.

[alexm23]

The summers will definitely not be as comfortable in Michigan summers--you will want to spend time inside during June/July/August.

The winters? I have no clue. Probably not as bad, or equal.

You can look up the climate statistics for Omaha and whatever city in Michigan you're from on City-Data's main site.

[harshbarj]

Originally Posted by MountainMen

The climate of Omaha is more extreme in nearly every direction. Hotter summer, colder winter, more wind, more sun, etc.

Colder winters is debatable. Omaha is warmer for highs, but colder for lows. As for wind, I would need to see data as Michigan is rather windy as well.

Always take MountainMen's posts with a grain of salt. He simply can't say enough bad things about omaha.

[Dave1215]

Omaha can have wide swings in short periods of time.

Not unusual to have a winter spell with 30 days below freezing and not unusual to have a winter where it hits 50 degrees one day.

The jet stream swings right over the Omaha area so a 50 mile south shift in the jet stream can bring cold Canadian air or 50 mile shift north can bring in warm Gulf air. Thus, anything is normal.

[SCentralNEGuy]

Originally Posted by harshbarj

Colder winters is debatable.

Agreed. Your winters are definitely going to be colder/more humid. Average for Omaha is 32 for a high/low of 12. So it gets just as cold at night but warms up more during the day (the further the west you get the more dramatic the difference between night and day.) Omaha is going to be a drier cold - not as humid feeling as the Chicago area or Northern Michigan.

Summers here are HOT (can you see that I would like to trade your summers up by Lake Superior for our sweltering ones here ). Think lower 90s most days and mid 90s and over 100 a frequent occurrence. I can't imagine how bad folks have it from Texas or Oklahoma. Thats why people here go to the lakes or the Rockies to cool off. Maybe some people from Omaha go to Northern Minnesota or Lake Superior I don't know. People here go on fishing trips in Canada and it is very nice up there in the summer but it is quite hot and humid here in the summer.

The winters are not going to be bad if you're from Northern Michigan - quite comparable and maybe even a little colder there - less snow here but a week or two period of subzero temperatures/single digit cold, real cold winter in January/Feb and December and March not bad although still quite chilly.

[GMinSWO]

My wife is from mid-Michigan (Saginaw area) and from the times we have visited, the summers are comparable, but since there are a lot more tress in Michigan there is a lot less wind. There is alot less precip. in Omaha both snow and rain. The part I cannot tolerate about Michigan is the cloudiness, at least in the Saginaw area there seems to be cloud cover everyday, even in the Summer. Coming from Omaha I am used to big blue skies in the Summer, but my Sister-in-law has a hard time dealing with the amount of sunshine in Omaha. Just what you are used to I guess.

[jessep28]

Originally Posted by GMinSWO

My wife is from mid-Michigan (Saginaw area) and from the times we have visited, the summers are comparable, but since there are a lot more tress in Michigan there is a lot less wind. There is alot less precip. in Omaha both snow and rain. The part I cannot tolerate about Michigan is the cloudiness, at least in the Saginaw area there seems to be cloud cover everyday, even in the Summer. Coming from Omaha I am used to big blue skies in the Summer, but my Sister-in-law has a hard time dealing with the amount of sunshine in Omaha. Just what you are used to I guess.

I was actually born in Saginaw and lived in Carrollton until I was in Kindergarden. If the original poster comes from the "swampier" (I doubt that's a word) parts of Michigan, one thing they'll probably notice is a reduction in mosquitos .