Northern Michigan Climate Overview

 

Below is an overview of what I find to be relevant climate information for Northern Michigan, particularly my area of study. 

The following data and visuals are pulled from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather service. The data is pulled from the larger Gaylord, MI area and I have focused in on Petoskey, MI which is 9 miles Southwest from Crooked Lake. 

The graph below shows the daily temperature for Petoskey, MI, and includes the observed temperature in royal blue, the recorded high in red and the record low in light blue. Of note is there are several dates in April - June so far this year that have crept up to the record high temperatures. 


This second graph from NOAA data provides an overview of accumulated precipitation. Of note is the accumulation so far in 2023 has consistently measured above the normal recorded amount and, in a few moments in April and May, met the recorded highs from 2019. Precipitation so far in June, however, is lower than the recorded highs from 2019. 


The NOAA National Weather Service site is quite easy to manage. Each chart has the ability to be both enlarged and manipulated to focus on certain periods of time, featuring a pop up window as you hoover over the date. 

NOAA's National Center for Environmental Information also offers several tools, including a "Global Summary of the Year" that allows users to select from a range of data sets, including temperatures highs and lows, precipitation highs and lows, average windspeed, soil temperature, among others. A user can look at a particular moment in time (e.g., one month in a given year) or assess data over a period of time (e.g., from a year to several years). 

I also pulled snowfall summary data from Purdue University, my alma mater, that covers 1971 - 2000. While the data is organized in a simple manner it is not as interactive as the NOAA platform linked above. 

Multiple other websites (e.g, U.S. Climate Data) offer easy-to-view data, however the source is typically NOAA, reinforcing this platform to be one of the best to use for primary source information. 


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