After shoveling snow all day, I don’t want to hear about all the snow in the 1970s and 1980s in Michigan. I came back to Michigan at the end of 2004, and after various snow-pocaly-geddons, four of the winters since then are in the top ten for snowiest winters in Detroit.
That kid probably thinks this is most snow he’s seen in his life. As if.
I found this data on the internet (thanks to michsnowfreak), so it must be true. I picked Detroit since it is the closest major city to me. The data was taken through March 11, 2011, so it’s not up to date, but I don’t think 1929 will be sneaking in any more snow, so it’s probably okay.
Detroit Top 10 Snowiest Seasons (1880-present)
- 93.6″ — 1880-81
- 78.0″ — 1925-26
- 74.0″ — 1981-82
- 71.7″ — 2007-08
- 69.1″ — 1899-00
- 69.1″ — 2010-11 (updated from 67.4″ thru March 11th)
- 67.2″ — 1907-08
- 66.5″ — 1929-30
- 65.7″ — 2008-09
- 63.8″ — 2004-05
Detroit Top 10 Whitest Seasons, 1″+ Snow Cover Days (1908-present)
- 91 days — 1977-78
- 89 days — 1947-48
- 89 days — 1981-82
- 86 days — 1966-67
- 85 days — 1911-12
- 84 days — 1909-10
- 82 days — 1958-59
- 81 days — 1962-63
- 79 days — 1929-30
- 79 days — 2010-11 thru March 11th
I don’t know how they defined snow cover days, but it’s interesting that 1977-78 and 1981-82 are on the list. These are probably the winters we all remember in Michigan (well, at least we really old people).
The 2007-08 and 2008-09 winters are the snowiest back-to-back winters with a total of 137.4″, beating out 1898-99 and 1899-00 by 8.1″.
The numbers show that the 2000s are the snowiest in Detroit.
I bring this data up for the following reasons:
- I hate snow.
- I hate shoveling snow.
- I’m happy I have new snow tires. (But I hate driving in snow.)
- This is all my fault. Sorry. (Statistics don’t lie.)
“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.”
—Carl Reiner
“There’s one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor’s.”
—Clyde Moore
Crankiness Rating: 11 out 11 (I have to drive in this sh-tuff tomorrow.)
Updates
January 5, 2014, 10:56 pm: More random snow data.
Top Ten Snow Storms in Detroit
- 24.5″ — April 6, 1886
- 19.3″ — December 1-2, 1974
- 14.0″ — February 28-March 1, 1900 / March 4-5, 1900
- 13.8″ — December 18-19, 1929
- 12.8″ — February 12-13, 1894
- 12.6″ — February 19, 1908
- 12.5″ — January 31-February 1, 1881
- 12.3″ — February 9, 1911 / March 3-4, 1895
- 12.2″ — January 22-23, 2005
- 12.1″ — January 13-14, 1927
Data from the National Weather Service.↩
January 6, 2014, 9:16 am: As a point of reference, Houghton, MI once got 105.5″ of snow in one month—January 2004.↩
January 27, 2014, 11:06 am: According to somebody, Detroit already broke its record for snowiest January. Detroit received 31.1 inches of snow as of Saturday, and got even more snow since then. The old record was 29.6 inches set in 1978. The snowiest month ever recorded for Detroit was in February 1904, when it got 38 inches of snow. Happy shoveling! (grrr…. I hate winter.)
February 1, 2014, 8:46 am: Based on data I downloaded from NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration), January broke the record with 38.3 in. This is up to January 27. I will see if this is confirmed through the news media. And where I live, February is already starting off with a good amount of snow.
Yup—confirmed. A couple of clarifications: first, the record was apparently 38.5 inches of snow, not 38 as I had written. And another 0.8 inches fell, bringing the total to 39.1 inches.
April 15, 2014, 7:06 am: This year is turning out to be a big one, too. I am so conflicted about this. On one hand, we’re close to a 134-year-old record. On the other hand, snow.
Detroit Top 10ish Snowiest Seasons (1880-present)
- 94.9″ — 2013-14 (through April 15)
- 93.6″ — 1880-81
- 78.0″ — 1925-26
- 74.0″ — 1981-82
- 71.7″ — 2007-08
- 69.1″ — 1899-00
- 69.1″ — 2010-11
- 67.2″ — 1907-08
- 66.5″ — 1929-30
- 65.7″ — 2008-09
- 63.8″ — 2004-05
(More data the National Weather Service here.)
