The top picture is standing water in a field south of the Alpine Athletic Field in Alpine Township. On rare occasion, water collects there, but this is as big a “puddle” as I have ever seen there. It’s maybe 50 yards wide (at least) and in the middle maybe 2 feet deep.
Rainfall Wednesday totaled 1.23″ in Grand Rapids. We’ve had 2.13″ for the month of April and 7.55″ since March 1st – and that’s 4.58″ above average. Since Jan 1 -precipitation in Grand Rapids has totaled 14.19″. That’s 6.58″ above average.
We’ve had measurable precipitation on 4 of the first 5 days of April, 5 of the last 7 days and 9 of the last 12 days. We’ve also had measurable precipitation on 23 of the last 36 days.
Here’s the severe storm reports from Wednesday. We had several reports of wind damage in southern Lower Michigan. There was a tree down east of Rockford and some wind damage near Lamont. For the entire U.S., we had 3 relatively minor tornadoes, one each in IN, KY and TX. There were 142 reports of wind damage and 34 reports of severe criteria hail.
The severe weather threat today and tonight consists of a Slight Risk in the mid-Atlantic states and a Marginal Risk in S. Texas.
Tuesday was also the first 60-degree day of the year in Grand Rapids and…it was our first 70-degree day of 2023 with a high of 71.
Now we settle into a drier pattern and a bit sunnier pattern. Look for near average to slightly cooler than average temperatures for the next several days, then warmer to much warmer than average temperatures for much of next week.
The latest 8-14 day temperature forecast from the Climate Prediction Center says warmer to much warmer than average temperature for the middle of the month. This will likely bring the blossoms and spring flowers out a little bit early. The colder than average pattern continues in the Western U.S.
This time of year, we start mentioning “cooler by the lake”. As temperatures warm up next week, you’re going to see a significant difference between temperatures inland and right at the lakeshore.
There are a number of flood warnings out for various rivers. Above is the Grand River in Comstock Park.
Speaking of Comstock Park – the Whitecaps home opener is this (Thu.) at 6:35 pm. Temperatures at game time will be in the mid-upper 40s with a west wind around 10-15 mph. Skies will be partly cloudy. Friday’s game at 12:05 pm will be partly sunny and 48 with lighter winds.
Final note – it’s time for another travel adventure. Come back to the blog this evening and see where Bill, Gayle (yes, she’s coming on this trip) and Michelle are going. Keep in mind that sometimes we have wound up in a different city than where we intended to go. We only fly free/very low cost with Michelle’s employee perk if there are unsold seats on the plane. Because planes are delayed and connections are reconfigured, planes can fill up. Until the door on the plane closes, we aren’t certain that a paying customer won’t take our seat. Up, up and away!
