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Ok, so Im living in my first major winter as a West Coast native. It surely is a baptism by fire, or ice as the case may be, lol. So I have a few questions. When abouts does the snow start to melt or subside? lol I also am carless for now though Im working on it.
First of all I think the snow is beautiful, particularly fom indoors with a panoramic view sipping on hot cocoa in 74F heat. However walking in 5F with -20F windchills not so much haha.
Never in my life did I think that 20F was a "warmup" until now. I find weather forecasts saying tomorrow will be "cooler" particularly hilarious lol. "Cooler" is 45-50 lol. "Friggin ice chilly so much your ears will most likely freeze off" is more accurate lol.
I can make due with the cold though, my question is. When they shovel the sidewalks, why do they always bunch it up like 2 ft high at the crosswalks. Ive fallen on the ice about three times so far, nursing a sprained hand, but Im recovering.
Is the bunching up of snow on corners normal or is it a Michigan thing? Is it always so arctic here every year? I always thought Minnesota or Montana was the extreme chill zone. But we are colder than Minneapolis, Moscow, even Winterpeg by 1 degree lol, right now. Even most of Alaska, not just the coast either, Im talking Fairbanks.
Anyway just wondering what the protocol for safety is. Is it ok to walk on the street? Do people do that. At several places and most crosswalks its downright dangerous. Im a noob when it comes to dealing with feet of frozen snow and sub-arctic temps. At this rate, Im expecting to see milk sold in open frozen blocks as is done in the arctic lol.
Not complaining, Michigan is a beautiful state, just a little vent and trying to get advice for safety's sake.Yes, I know...car.
Ok, so Im living in my first major winter as a West Coast native. It surely is a baptism by fire, or ice as the case may be, lol. So I have a few questions. When abouts does the snow start to melt or subside? lol I also am carless for now though Im working on it.
First of all I think the snow is beautiful, particularly fom indoors with a panoramic view sipping on hot cocoa in 74F heat. However walking in 5F with -20F windchills not so much haha.
Never in my life did I think that 20F was a "warmup" until now. I find weather forecasts saying tomorrow will be "cooler" particularly hilarious lol. "Cooler" is 45-50 lol. "Friggin ice chilly so much your ears will most likely freeze off" is more accurate lol.
It actually is cold enough to the point where if you don't take certain precautions, you could lose a little skin to frostbite. Pictures of it on Google are gnarly. But those are usually the extreme cases where people have been outside in this sort of weather for like a dozen hours or something. Still though, being out in the cold too long can some adverse effects (just like being out in the heat too long).
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I can make due with the cold though, my question is. When they shovel the sidewalks, why do they always bunch it up like 2 ft high at the crosswalks. Ive fallen on the ice about three times so far, nursing a sprained hand, but Im recovering.
Is the bunching up of snow on corners normal or is it a Michigan thing? Is it always so arctic here every year? I always thought Minnesota or Montana was the extreme chill zone. But we are colder than Minneapolis, Moscow, even Winterpeg by 1 degree lol, right now. Even most of Alaska, not just the coast either, Im talking Fairbanks.
You see that everywhere where snow accumulates. It's just the easiest spot to put it though it's certainly kind of annoying when they get so high to the point of blocking your view. You have to creep your car like closer to the street or intersection to make sure no traffic is coming before you turn.
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Anyway just wondering what the protocol for safety is. Is it ok to walk on the street? Do people do that. At several places and most crosswalks its downright dangerous. Im a noob when it comes to dealing with feet of frozen snow and sub-arctic temps. At this rate, Im expecting to see milk sold in open frozen blocks as is done in the arctic lol.
Generally if you don't have boots or a long stretch of sidewalk is unplowed, then it's pretty common for people to walk in the street. Though I typically see it within the city and inner-ring suburbs. I don't know about farther out. I personally wouldn't trust walking on the street with all that traffic.
Also, usually the cold lasts until late March or April (though the chance for snow can last up until May). Then it's straight into rainy season. So not only is there going to be all this water from the melting snow, but it's going to be falling from the sky too. It's not as bad as probably more humid places like down South, but that's not what you're going to think when the weather forecasts 6 days of rain with one day of partly cloudy skies.
Location: Scott County, Tennessee/by way of Detroit
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I lived in the Detroit area most of my life and last winter was THE worst winter I ever spent there. ..Seems like this year is a close second... Yes..people pile up the snow as you will see in large parking lots..the piles can be mountainous!!!!! The worst part is you get a warmer day then. .bam...sub zero temps and everything freezes. . Enjoy the winter and Troy..nice area! !!!
Born and raised in Michigan and went to school in the UP. Michigan is beautiful. Wait until that first, warm spring day. It will be more beautiful than you can ever imagine. It WILL make you forget just how nasty it can get there in the winter. And you'll keep on forgetting it until it gets cold, dark, and nasty again. And you will curse yourself for forgetting.
And then spring will come again.
It WILL make you forget just how nasty it can get there in the winter. And you'll keep on forgetting it until it gets cold, dark, and nasty again. And you will curse yourself for forgetting.
And then spring will come again.
It WILL make you forget just how nasty it can get there in the winter. And you'll keep on forgetting it until it gets cold, dark, and nasty again. And you will curse yourself for forgetting.
When abouts does the snow start to melt or subside?
You won't see much relief until April. Even then, there's a good chance you'll still see snow through mid-April. Your chances of going outside and enjoying a nice, warm, sunny day will be slim-to-none until May.
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First of all I think the snow is beautiful, particularly fom indoors with a panoramic view sipping on hot cocoa in 74F heat.
After living with snow for 30 years (and never liking it), I personally cannot even fathom this thought.
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Not complaining, Michigan is a beautiful state
No need to apologize. A lot of people complain about Michigan, including myself.
This winter has been interesting and it most years we would say its been harsh but its actually been less so in comparison than last winter 2013-2014.
We are actually on track to have the coldest February on record. So, you are correct in that February has been extremely cold.
We had one big cold snap in mid-November, but then December was mild and almost snow-less. We had almost zero measurable snow in December which is extremely rare. January was relatively quiet and someone more mild than normal with only a few minor snowfalls. February has been more on the extreme side, particularly with the cold. However, we did have that big snowfall on Super Bowl Sunday, but we typically get about 2-3 big snow events per winter.
Last winter we had far more snow than this year, in fact it was a record year for snowfall, this year less so.
As for when it will break, well we will typically start to see milder temps by mid-March that will typically start to melt most of the snow. March is an up-and-down month though, as we may get a few days into the 50s (for a few hours) buts its mostly 30s/low 40s for highs and lows are still below freezing. April we finally start to consistently see highs in the 50s, it doesn't get consistently nice around here until May. We typically do not see significant snow after about mid-March, but will still see the occasional but brief snow into early April
ok so technically I don't have any experience with Michigan winter/spring weather but I assume it's the same as here (Toronto and Kitchener, ON)... Temperatures are rarely very different, they're pretty close, and neither get much lake effect snow.
Right now, the thing to look forward to is an increasingly warmer sun. Less cloudiness and the sun is higher up, and longer days. You're already seeing a bit of that compared to December or January, and it makes the 10F weather feel a little less awful. :P
But I think that kind of bitter cold is almost over. Pretty soon I'd expect we'll get a day when the sun will be warm enough that you can actually feel the warmth against your skin (this can happen even in sub-freezing temps).
March can really be all over the place weather wise. March 2012 had some really warm weather, about a week of highs in the 70s here, and I'm pretty sure Detroit would have been at least as warm. That was really unusual, but it shows that it can happen. I wouldn't get my hopes up for that too much though, the March "warm ups" are typically more in the 50s/60s, and of course you can still get colder 30s/40s weather the week after.
This March is predicted to be on the cold side, so it's probably going to be a mix of "mild" (30s-50s) and colder 20s weather, going back and forth between the two, some days the sun will be nice and strong, then cloudy, then raining, then snowing... Basically a roller coaster of winter and vaguely spring-like weather.
April should be starting to feel more spring like, with flowers starting to come out, grass getting greener. Some years you don't get any snow at all in April, and when you do, it's usually just a few inches in the first 2 weeks of April and melts within a couple days. You'll probably still get some freezing temperatures, even in terms of daily highs, but you should start getting some warmer weather too.
April is usually when you get the first 70F+ day of the year (unless you're really lucky and get it in March) and it will feel really nice, probably quite sunny, and people are going to be in a bit of a state of euphoria, breaking out the shorts and t-shirts, maybe even flip-flops, hitting the parks, restaurant patios and yard BBQs...
You might still get some chilly weather after that first warm day, but by the time May comes around, you'll be able to put away your winter coat for good. You might still get some 40s weather at night, but mostly 60s-70s during the day. May is also when the leaves start to grow on the trees, and a lot of the spring flowers like daffodils and tulips start to bloom. Then it picks up in June, leaves get to full size in early-mid June if I remember right, and lots more flowers start to bloom.
June you should really be in the clear, you won't even need a jacket, 50s at night, 70s-80s during the day. The first hot summer like (80s+) day is usually in May or early June (although 80F April is not impossible).
So summer is still a way's away, but the worst of the bitter cold should be over soon.
April is usually when you get the first 70F+ day of the year (unless you're really lucky and get it in March) and it will feel really nice, probably quite sunny, and people are going to be in a bit of a state of euphoria, breaking out the shorts and t-shirts, maybe even flip-flops, hitting the parks, restaurant patios and yard BBQs...
Dude, I know you don't live in Michigan so I'll go easy on you, but April in Metro Detroit is nothing like this. On average, we still get 2 inches of snow in April. We do get crazy fluke/outlier temperatures here and there that last for a short period of time, but generally speaking you are not going to ever see 70F+ days in March or April.
Dude, I know you don't live in Michigan so I'll go easy on you, but April in Metro Detroit is nothing like this. On average, we still get 2 inches of snow in April. We do get crazy fluke/outlier temperatures here and there that last for a short period of time, but generally speaking you are not going to ever see 70F+ days in March or April.
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.
Last edited by canudigit; 02-23-2015 at 10:42 PM..
You are calling out this person for inaccurately describing our weather, but you are the one who is not accurate.
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.
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