MID-MICHIGAN -- You know the saying here in Michigan. If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes, it’ll change. 2012 gave truth to that statement, time and time again.
It was the year of heat in Michigan.
January and February were pretty warm. So much so, that February’s mild temperatures solidified the Tri Cities 3rd warmest winter ever. Flint had its 4th warmest ever recorded.
March was probably the most bizarre month in recent memory. The heat wave that plagued the area delivered the warmest March on record in Flint. Record highs were shattered, not only daily highs, but monthly records as well. Flint’s average temperature for March exceeded the average by an unprecedented 16º, with an all time record high for March of 86º set on the 21st. Saginaw recorded it’s all time record high for March the same day, hitting an incredibly warm 87º. All of this incredible warmth provided enough instability to produce tornados. The strongest: an EF-3 tornado with winds near 140 mph in Dexter.
April was much calmer. It was actually colder than March, and that’s the first time that has ever happened.
The heat returned in May. Flint hit it’s all time record high for the month of 93º on May 28th. This heat solidified the warmest Spring on record for both Flint and Saginaw. Heavy rains brought major flooding also occurred in Flint, with the Flint River and Swartz River hitting record flood stages.
June, July, and August heat waves continued to break records. Saginaw experienced it’s 5th warmest Summer. Flint: it’s 13th. The heat, combined with below average rains, created severe drought conditions, affecting produce, livestock, and recreation as lake levels lowered. Saginaw was deluged with flooding rains in early August, with nearly 8” falling in just two days.
September brought about an end to the heat, and was an end to the 17 straight months of above average temperatures for Flint. Rains also helped eliminate the summer’s drought.
October was all about Sandy. Hurricane Sandy merged with an upper level system, creating one of the largest wind fields from a single storm in history. Winds were accompanied by rain, sleet, and even snow as Sandy moved inland from New Jersey.
Winds gusted to near 50 mph in flint and Saginaw. Hurricane force gusts along the lake front knocked out power to thousands in the Thumb area.
November and December have been fairly quiet regarding huge storms systems, but December is turning out to be a rather warm one.
2012 will likely become the hottest year on record in Flint, challenging the old record of 1998.
This year was marked by heat, drought, severe weather, flooding, and even tropical systems. But remember…. If you don’t like the weather, just wait 5 mins, it’ll change.
