Video of huge waterspout on Lake Michigan

This brief video shows a huge waterspout that formed over Lake Michigan on Saturday. Evidently atmospheric conditions were perfect for generating waterspouts. "An unstable mix of cool autumn air and warm lake waters spawned dozens of tornadic funnel clouds" per this Rueters article.

Crazy.

Seasoned Michiganders will enjoy today for what it is

Anyone who has been through a few Michigan winters will recognize the warm temps across the state today for what they are - an anomaly. We're supposed to get up to 65 here in southwest Michigan by this afternoon. I'll be wearing short sleeves and grilling some steaks while enjoying this brief respite from winter's icy grasp. Enjoy it while it lasts, because we Michigan winter veterans know that this is merely a tease of the spring that is still a long way off from coming. In a couple of days it's supposed to be cold and snowing again. That's why days like today are meant to have all of the fun and enjoyment we can squeeze from them. It's what gets us through the last six weeks of winter.

Have a Great Day!

:)

Just how bad was the rain in Michigan over the weekend?

Bad enough that I need to upgrade my rain gauge the next time any hurricane remnants (such as Ike) come rolling through. I had to dump it multiple times per day and at my best guest we received somewhere in the neighborhood of 8" or so. I heard on the radio that places like Vicksburg reported nearly 12" of rain in the weekend storms. The storms were bad enough that opening day events at the St. Joe County 4-H fair were canceled. The fairgrounds were fairly flooded and by 3pm you could get in the fair for free as they told the folks manning the gates to call it a day. Most vendors were closed so if you did get in for free there wasn't a whole lot to do except eat some Frazee French Fries (yum! My favorite!).

Also, a tornado touched down in Paw Paw and today, many schools are closed due to flooding from the torrential rains. I don't know if I have ever seen rain like this for three days in a row before.

Here's to a sunny and dry week!:)

If you can't stand the heat

Go North! To Michigan's Upper Peninsula to be exact. Here's a quick glance around at some of today's temps in the U.P. -

Marquette - 76 Escanaba - 75 Sault Ste. Marie - 78 Paradise - 72

Versus a smattering of some Lower Peninsula temps -

Detroit - 90 Grand Rapids - 90 White Pigeon - 88 Traverse City - 86

Not sure what to do when you go Up North to Michigan's U.P.? Check out Hunt's Guide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula for a ton of great ideas and off the beaten path adventures.

Stay Cool :)

You know it has been a rough Michigan winter when . . .

The top news headline of each day is one of the following:

• "Yet another day of single digit temperatures"
• "4-6 inches of snow expected overnight"
• "Number of potholes at a record high"
• "Warm temps and rain to bring another round of flooding"
• "Today's near record warmth to be followed by sub-zero wind chills"

Seriously, I can't remember a winter like this where we have had so many 30 degree temperature changes in a matter of hours. There are flood warnings about every other week and the constant fluctuations in temperature have created the most pothole filled roads I have seen on paved roads here in Michigan.

The good news?

One month from tomorrow, February 20, Spring officially begins on March 20, 2008!

For those longing for more light later in the evening - Daylight Saving Time begins March 9th.

And as they say - "Hope Springs Eternal."

Finally turned my furnace on

I am marking October 23, 2007 down in my personal history books. In the four years since we have moved in to our current home yesterday was the latest I have ever turned my furnace on. We have yet to have a hard frost and the last frost of any kind we had was around the 20th of September. It's hard to believe we had a couple of inches of snow on October 12 last year. The last day of October is one week away and we have yet to even have a decent frost. Don't get me wrong, we are picking tomatoes out of our garden at the latest point ever. Normally at this time of the year the garden is dead and we've pulled out all of the plants.

I don't want you to think I am an advocate for Global Warming. I am not even sure Global Warming is as significant as folks have touted. When the people touting and promoting global warming are telling me to conserve energy and not rely on oil are flying in private jets and traveling across the country in caravans of SUVs I tend to not listen to their message. You have to walk it if you are going to talk it.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the news that I finally had to turn on my furnace.