Weather hampers emergency crews; response times double

As of Sunday evening road and weather conditions have improved, but the morning commute was a real problem for drivers; but also for emergency crews.

Unusually Warm Temps Create Heavy Fog in West Michigan

Earlier Saturday morning it was heavy fog that was causing problems for drivers because of our unusually warm weather.

Blizzard-like conditions in West Michigan

West Michigan is experiencing blizzard like conditions after another storm dropped over 4 inches and wind gusts blow up to 40 miles per hour.

December Weather Ranks Third

Winter officially arrives this Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 7:04 AM, a point at which the sun has finished its march southward for the year, reaching latitude 23.5°S, otherwise known as the Tropic of Capricorn. The sun will then begins a six-month journey north until summer arrives on June 21, 2009, reaching latitude 23.5°N, otherwise known as the Tropic of Cancer.

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Record Start to December Snowfall

This past Saturday the Lessens' family made its annual trek to Church's Tree Farm in southern Newaygo County to find the perfect Christmas tree. This year, the weather outside was frightful - at least at first appearances: light to moderate snow accompanied us on our trip, but roads were quite passable.

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November & Autumn Weather Stats

November was warmer, drier, sunnier and a little snowier than average while autumn was warmer, wetter, sunner, and a little snowier than average.

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Winter 2008-09 Forecast

Weeks before winter actually settles in meteorologists are called upon to make their predictions for what type of season it will be. Long-range forecasting is one the more difficult tasks for meteorologists (my profession), so we turn to climatologists to help us analyze and interpret worldwide weather patterns that affect us locally.

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Change to Winter Products & Road Conditions

In the past few weeks I've attended a number of meetings with Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and National Weather Service (NWS) officials discussing several new topics surrounding West Michigan winter weather this year.

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Record Start to November

Last week's 70°F weather seems a distant memory, now that we've moved into an extended November chill with high temperatures not expected to warm much higher than the 40s for the next couple of weeks. The unusually warm (and sunny) weather allowed me to winterize my lawnmower, finish my outdoor chores, and even tune-up my snow thrower, all without freezing myself in the process.

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October 2008 Weather Stats

The Halloween decorations have come down, my lawn furniture and grill are put away, and I'm close to wrapping up all my autumn outdoor chores. October was kind to my outdoor, and especially to my weekend plans.

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Halloween Weather History

If you are a regular reader of this column you know that Halloween is one of the Lessens' family's favorite holidays of the year (right after Christmas and Thanksgiving.)

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Done for the Season

The recent spell of dry weather has been ideal: this past weekend I reached my goal of painting the entire second-story section of cedar shake shingles on the north side of my house. Phase two ? the third story to the peak - begins next spring!

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September 2008 Weather Stats

Seems that September was a month of extremes: warmer, wetter, and surprisingly sunnier than average.

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First Autumn Freeze Dates

My lawn and landscaping are back to late-spring form: healthy and green once again thanks to the soaking rains during the first two weeks of September. These past two weeks of dry weather has certainly helped to dry things out. I've recently planted some grass seed and, if all goes according to plan (that is, the weather) my new grass should start sprouting in about ten to fourteen days, just before the "frost and freeze season" sets in.

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Record September Rainfall

I am certainly looking forward to some dry weather, after not one, but two tropical drenchings this month: first "Gustav" and then "Ike." Fortunately I've been able to keep up with the lawn work between soakings; unfortunately my house-painting days have been "slim and none."

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August & Summer 2008 Weather Stats

August 2008 was warmer, drier, and sunnier than average while the Summer of 2008 was warmer, wetter, and cloudier than usual.

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Temperate Temperatures

I would characterize temperatures this summer as ?temperate': not too hot and not too cool. So far we are averaging about 1.0° warmer for the season, largely due to warmer overnight temperatures.

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Waterspout Science

Several waterspouts developed over Lake Michigan last Thursday morning due to a unique combination of weather events.

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Wind Energy

Several, seemingly not-related, items got me thinking about this week's article: a weather conference, a magazine article, and our annual trip to the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven this week.

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Tropics Getting Active

The tropics are getting active: four tropical cyclones have already developed this season in the Atlantic, three so far this month. On average, it usually takes until August 29 to reach four named storms.

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Number of 85° and 90° Days

This is the warmest week of the year - on average - as high temperatures reach 83°F in Grand Rapids and 81°F in Muskegon. Even though summer temperatures are averaging about 1°F warmer than usual we've had fewer days in the 80s and 90s compared to last year.

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June Weather Stats

Stormy weather seemed to rule the West Michigan weather pattern the last week of June but fortunately it ended before the Fourth of July weekend.

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Seven Days of Severe Weather

Severe weather waited until June to break out across West Michigan: from June 5-15 we had seven days with everything from large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding, some with deadly results.

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Wet Start to June

Enough already! While several recent days of heavy rainfall have been beneficial to my new landscaping and lawn reseeding, it is interfering with my attempts to paint my cedar shake shingles. I'm already a few weeks behind schedule on phase two, the largest phase of my house-painting project.

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May and Spring 2008 Weather Statistics

The month of May and the spring season were both cooler, drier, and sunnier than average.

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