westMJim

Just got back from my daily walk. One word it is COLD out there and from time to time there is some wind blown sleet that in bouncing around. The temperature here is a cold (for late April) 38 here.

Yesterday's high of 42 (reached just after midnight) was the 3rd coldest maximum of any April 21st in Grand Rapids recorded history. And the official low today of 24 ties the record low for today the 22nd of April. Here at my house I had a low of 22 and at this time there is light snow falling and the current temperature here is 30

This from the NWS GRR in their afternoon discussion. " TAKING ALL THE ABOVE INGREDIENTS INTO ACCOUNT, THE QUESTION REMAINS, HOW COLD WILL IT BE AND HOW COLD IS IT IN REGARD TO RECORD LOWS FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR? GIVEN THE ABNORMALLY COLD AIR AND THE POTENTIAL FOR CLEAR SKIES FOR MOST OF THE NIGHT, LOWS COULD REASONABLY DROP IN THE MID 20S. THE RECORDS FOR TOMORROW IS 24F AT GRAND RAPIDS IN 1986, 21F AT LANSING IN 1875, 22F AT MUSKEGON IN 1926 AND 22F AT KALAMAZOO IN 1936."

It looks like the high of 42 for today may have been reached just after midnight. If that holds that would place today as the 3rd coldest maximum for any April 21st in Grand Rapids history. Even if it makes it to 45 later today that would still be the 5th coldest maximum. This will be the 3rd day this month that Grand Rapids has had a high in the top 10 coldest maximums for a date this April.

The sun is now out here with a more March like temperature of 37. Today will be the 9th day in a row of below average temperatures With a current departure of -2.6° April will be the 1st below average month here at Grand Rapids since last November. The big question is will this be the start of a long term cool spell?

If and that is always a big little word, but if that ridge holds to the west it could be a hot summer out there and a cool one here in the GL. On the other hand if that ridge moves to the east it could become hot in the east this summer as well. As I stated before it sure has been windy here the last week and it is windy once again today.

This sure has been a rather windy April. In the last week here are the wind gust for each day. April 19th 39MPH. April 18th 41 MPH. April 17 a calm day with just 13 MPH. April 16th 33 MPH. April 15th 27 MPH. April 14th 41 MPH. April 13th 48 MPH. Yesterday even with the sun and temperatures well into the 50’s with that wind it sure did feel cool. Today it is sunny and once again windy and at this time 48 here at my house. And tomorrow once again it looks to be not only windy but cold and there is a chance of snow not only tomorrow but on Wednesday morning as well.

Many years ago we were in Las Vegas and the outside temperature reading in the car and the ones on the banks ect read 108 I am not sure what the DP was but it was dry to say the least. Anyway I remember it was not as bad as I thought it would be in the shade if you could find any. But in the sun that was a different story think stick you head in a oven. Also I remember even in the shade if the sun reflected off a building across the street you could feel the heat from that as well.

Unlike the Detroit area here on the west side of the state the snow fall totals are well below average by 2 feet or more. Here are the latest totals (should be the total for the season) are at Grand Rapids for April 2.2" for the season just 53.5" At Muskegon April the total is April just a trace and for the season 51.9" all most 42" below average. At Lansing the numbers are 1.2" for April and 45.9 for the year. That is -4.8" below average. Over at Detroit they have had 4.9" of snow fall this April and now have 43.3" for the season. At Flint they have had 0.2" this April and have seen 52.7" for the season up at Saginaw they have had just a trace this month and only 34.3" on the season. UP north where they could still see some more snow here is their list https://www.weather.gov/apx/snow And last but not least Marquette Has recorded 20.5" this April and they have had 204.4" for the season so far and still can get more. As of this morning they still had 24" on the ground.

On this side of the state there was more snow to the south of Grand Rapids. But here there was just a trace and for the season Grand Rapids is now at 53.5" that looks to be the total for the winter of 2019/20

Sunny with a cool wind here today the current temperature here is at 54 with that cool wind.

Some sobering facts for you all. Trump likes to call himself the “war time president” so lets see how this war is stacking up against past US wars. As of April 16th (note the numbers are a day behind) a total of 37,175 Americans have died from the coronavirus. If this is indeed a war it is now the 5th most deadly war in American’s history and is still ongoing and no real end in sight. At the current rate the US could still very much reach the 100,000 to 200,000 total deaths by the end of the summer and hey even the 2 million are still in play by the time this all ends. List of past US dead in past wars. https://www.militaryfactory.com/american_war_deaths.asp Remember the US got into the war with the first death on February 29, 2020

No comment is needed on this one.

Light snow is falling here with a temp of 35. It is not sticking and the road is just wet.

Even with some sun with the wind it was a very cold walk today. It is still windy here with a temperature of just 38.

This has will be a very cold period for mid April. Yesterday’s high of 36 is the 3 coldest maximum for the date and the low of 25 is the 9th coldest minimum for the date. The high so far today at Grand Rapids has been just 38 and if that holds it would become the 6th coldest maximum for April 16th the low of 27 is already the 9 coldest low here at GR for April 16th.

With yesterday's H/L of 36/25 here at Grand Rapids it made it the 3rd coldest maximum and the 9th coldest low for any April 15th and thus one of the coldest April 15's on record. At this time it s cloudy and 26 here with some light snow falling.

Getting nice big flakes of snow here now. Still cold with a temp of 36.

Anyway for any true conservatives who would like to take the CON out of conservative there is one man who might run for president who is a honest and true conservative. While I do not agree with many of his ideas I do respect the man and that is much more than I can say about Trump. And that is Justin Amash https://www.woodtv.com/news/elections/amash-decision-on-presidential-run-coming-soon/ I think it is too late for him to be getting into the race but he is sure a better true conservative then Trump.

I seen that. Why would he want his name on a TAXPAYER stimulus check??? As if the money was coming from him. Oh I forgot he is Trump and everything is about him. And you made a great point that has not be made. Taxes are only going to up and up. I am surprised no republican has said there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Getting moderate snow fall here now. Nothing says spring better than a spring snow fall.

The ground is now snow covered here and I just took a measurement and there is now a half inch of snow on the ground. There is still light snow falling and the current temperature is 30.

The post above was just a test. No official complaints here. Well there is one it is now too cold for mid April.

Test it is now time for a test

Getting a steady light snow here now. Has the look of lake effect snow. 32 at this time.