It's crazy that we're already through the first week of January and we're still not up to our knees in snow. In fact, since the weather turned colder here in Grand Rapids, we've barely had any snow. Only once so far have I had to shovel the sidewalk at home. And lake effect snow, what's that? At least this year.

WOODTV reports that even with the recent snow we got last weekend, we're hitting historically low numbers for snowfall during a winter; not just in West Michigan, but for the state. As Bill Steffen from WOODTV said, we've never rolled into a new year with so little snow throughout the winter months, especially since we're over halfway through the snowy months. Currently, Grand Rapids is only at 24% of the average snowfall, and Kalamazoo and Muskegon are around 33% of their winter snowfall average.

So how much snow haven't we received this year? According to WOODTV, normally by January 4th, our average amount of snow is at 31.4".  In 2020, it was down a bit at 21.1". So far for 2021, we're just at 7.4". That's quite a difference.

So why aren't we getting our usual snow? Our snowmaker is broken. Not really. WOODTV says it is because the temps are warmer and we haven't had a good blast of artic air, which helps produce not only system snow, but also helps the Mitten state with lake effect snow, which we really haven't seen anywhere in Michigan including Traverse City, Marquette, and Sault Ste. Marie. All are way below their snowfall average for this time of year.

This all sucks if you enjoy the snow, or you enjoy activities that you can only do in the snow. But, if you're a kid that grew up in the south, it kind of feels like home, and I'm not having to clean my car off or shovel the sidewalks.

 

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