  Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 171 Registered: 02-2007 |
Ok, now I'm just curious. Can anyone on here describe how the winter used to be before the 1980s and how many snow days on average did y'all receive. I know it has changed significantly. It seems as if SE Michigan has seen more crippling Ice Storms in recent years rather than Snow Storms. Also, the schools might be softening becuase the 10 inches every other day we got from the 70s is a rarity now. the topic may not be specifically about te city, but just curious to hear what you DYers think about it. | |||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 1713 Registered: 12-2005 |
This was my first winter here since 1980 and it sure did seem mild compared to back then. I heard last winter wasn't bad either. Searching around I found info on 1974 and 1978. I also remember a strange storm in 1966/7 with snow up to my thighs with a thick layer of ice on top. The ice was strong enough to support my weight exactly 50% of the time. Half the time I'd fall all the way through and the other half I'd have to hoist myself up a few feet onto the ice. It was an exasperating walk home from school! It's probably better to compare data from an almanac than ask for opinions here. Does anyone know of a good almanac with this data? | |||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 175 Registered: 02-2007 |
I've tried, but I'd like to hear the experiences from Detroiters and not some Rich "I must do this or I won't get paid" yuppie from the Weather Channel. | |||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 1714 Registered: 12-2005 |
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The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1630 Registered: 11-2003 |
Jimaz--Maybe that "strange storm" you are referring to was the snow storm of Feb. 25, 1965. I have that date circled in my old 1965 pocket calendar. We had about a foot of snow that day and I recall there were several deaths attributed to heart attacks while snow shoveling. My buddy and I were both working at Michigan Mutual on West Adams, and were attending law school at night. He picked me up that morning in his trusty VW bug from 9 and Jefferson in SCS. It was snowing like hell and it took us about three hours driving down Jefferson to get to work.Cars and busses were all over the place. And, of course, when we got to work, there were very few employees, the office had been declared"officially closed" 2 hours earlier. So we went over to the Elwood Bar, which at that time was on Woodward, and had lunch and a few beers, found out that law school classes ( like everything else) were cancelled. So we "drove home", another three hours. Waste of a day. I am sure we have had worse snow storms in this fair city, but that one I remember. | |||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2081 Registered: 10-2003 |
I remember that Feb '65 snow storm! I was in 2nd grade. Mom worked the midnight shift at Bon Secours Hospital and managed to make it home but had no place to put the car until we shoveled the driveway and then the street so that she could manuever the car around and into the driveway. Boy, us kids had fun jumping off the front porch into some huge snow drifts!!! I don't recall how many days school was closed for this storm. | |||
Miss_cleo Member Username: Miss_cleo Post Number: 428 Registered: 05-2005 |
Man oh man do I remember getting the snow when I was a kid in the 70's. Now it seems like SE Mi doesnt get any snow at all and I was always disappointed with the winters. A huge pet peeve of mine, not enough snow! This past winter up here I have seen more snow than the last 15 years down there. I finally live where you get decent snowfall and that makes me very happy. We still have snow on the ground up here, its been melting of course,but we still have lots in the woods. All the locals are saying it isnt over yet either, snow through April is the norm up here. Bet ya'll are pretty much done with the white stuff downstate. | |||
Miss_cleo Member Username: Miss_cleo Post Number: 429 Registered: 05-2005 |
Oh, and the first week of December up here, we would wake up every morning to a fresh 5-7 inches on the ground. Think the schools closed? Hell No! Nothing closes here for snow, I was just amazed, getting up each morning and checking to see if the schools were closed, just sure they would be..... Snow does not stop things up here. | |||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 1716 Registered: 12-2005 |
The_rock, great story! I too drove a VW bug around the time of that 1978 snowstorm. Normally VWs are super in snow with the engine over the drive wheels and that super-low first gear. Nonetheless, cautious as I am, I slid and landed it smack dab, teetering, on top of a snowpile larger than the car itself and oddly in the same shape too! It looked like a couple of VWs mating. It would have made a great photo. The tow truck driver was reluctant to winch it down off the pile but I persuaded him its low center of gravity would keep it upright. It all worked out. What a storm! | |||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 182 Registered: 02-2007 |
Here's a ratio for you guys when it comes to winter storms "4 to 1". The 4 stands for how many Significant Ice events or storms we had this year and the 1 is that crazy Valentine day snowstorm. however, one thing that SE Michigan has been hammered with this season which is unusual is Lake Effect/Instability Snow Squalls, often containing Thunder inside of them. One notable example was October 12 of 2006 and about a couple weeks ago when we had lightning in Downtown Detroit and a loud crackle of thunder. Sad thing is, there so short duration that there pointless. (Message edited by Urbanize on March 16, 2007) | |||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 697 Registered: 12-2005 |
There was a significant snowstorm in the Detroit area on January 27, 1967. Schools were all closed - as were many businesses - and the snow continued falling throughout the day. I remember that my father stayed home from work that day and rather than sit around doing nothing, he decided to replace some old galvanized water pipes in our basement. However, he needed a couple of fittings so he called the local hardware to see if they were open. They were, so I got the assignment to walk up there and purchase the items he needed. I remember walking in the ruts down the middle of 10 Mile Road in the falling snow, which was nearly deserted, despite it being noontime. When I got back home, I helped him with the plumbing project and it was while we were working on it that the television station interrupted their regular programming with the announcement that Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee had been killed in the Apollo 1 fire at Cape Kennedy. | |||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 1225 Registered: 01-2005 |
All Detroit winters are brutal. Some years may see little snow, and some years may be comparatively mild. But the cloud cover that is nearly continuous from November to April absolutely sucks. So I moved to the desert and enjoy 320 days of sunshine a year. And the other 45 days usually have some sunshine. And, yes, it's a dry heat. | |||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 880 Registered: 02-2006 |
I occasionally read a newsblog out of NYC (gothamist, if anyone else reads. Also DCist). I love to see New Yorkers complain about their winters. It gets below 40 degrees, and people bring out the no skin exposed clothing and start whining. Meanwhile, it's in the teens or single digits here in the upper Midwest (Chicago for me, not much warmer in Detroit). And don't get me started on DC. 2 inches of snow is a fucking EVENT and the government closes. Bunch of crybabies. | |||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 189 Registered: 02-2007 |
Chicago can be warmer and both colder than Detroit, but of course not by much. 6 Inches of snow for the both of us is big this day and age in the Midwest. | |||
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100 Post Number: 610 Registered: 12-2006 |
Yeah, since all the snow has gone south or out to Buffalo in the past 5 years. | |||
Ookpik Member Username: Ookpik Post Number: 138 Registered: 01-2007 |
 This is a photo of a snow storm in 1965. Not sure if it is THE storm being discussed. A larger view: http://www.geocities.com/detpix/gs2.jpg The 1978 storm is the one I remember. We had so much snow in the backyard my brother was able to walk across the snow and STEP OVER the fence into the neighbors yard! We have a home movie of him doing this. Ookpik | |||
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100 Post Number: 614 Registered: 12-2006 |
That's like us 4 years ago when we piled too much snow up near our fence. The dog walked up the snow and went for a visit with our next door neighbors dog. | |||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 49 Registered: 02-2007 |
I remember 65 and 78. 78 was another foot every week it seemed. We'll get hit again one of these years. It was thundering close to February this year and the old timers said that meant a late spring. Seems to hold true. 79 or 80, I remember it was like 60 degrees around Christmas. Had the front door open. Was weird after being hit so hard in recent years. | |||
56packman Member Username: 56packman Post Number: 1121 Registered: 12-2005 |
56Packman (Packboy in this shot) riding out the great storm of '65 in NW Detroit  | |||
Pam Member Username: Pam Post Number: 1177 Registered: 11-2005 |
quote: Are you sure you aren't thinking of Seattle?  We get a decent amount of sunny days in the winter. I can see blue sky outside right now. Cute pic Packman. The snow is nearly waist deep for a little guy! (Message edited by Pam on March 17, 2007) | |||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1632 Registered: 11-2003 |
Wow, Kathleen, Here I am struggling in a blizzard trying to get to work to eek out a living to pay for law school, and you are having fun jumping into snow banks. What an imperfect world we live in. | |||
Themax Member Username: Themax Post Number: 605 Registered: 09-2005 |
I don't think the Great Lakes have been freezing over in the last few years. That means water is evaporating from them in the winter too. Everyone who keeps track of the weather says that globally the winters of late have been the mildest on record. www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/rel eases2000/mar00/noaa00015.html news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6 401063.stm http://www.cbsnews.com/stories /2007/03/15/tech/main2574530.s html?source=RSSattr=HOME_25745 30 | |||
Mikeg Member Username: Mikeg Post Number: 699 Registered: 12-2005 |
quote: I think you are right, however, much of that moisture is immediately returned to the watershed in the form of lake-effect snow. When the Great Lakes do freeze over significantly, the lake-effect snow machine gets shut off from its source of moisture and the number of sunny days increase for the remainder of the winter. | |||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2084 Registered: 10-2003 |
The_rock: And I remember making snow angels over at Balduck Park sometime during the 3 days we had off school following the 19-inch blizzard on December 1, 1974!!! On Thanksgiving Friday, a busload of Bishop Gallagher students hit the road to Toronto for a couple days; on our way home on Sunday we made it as far as a few miles outside of Windsor by 5pm, only to be stuck there on the 401 for hours. It took us until about 12:30 pm that night to make it into the city of Windsor and our bus driver's house!! The local Tim Horton's sent over donuts and coffee and milk for us as we were starving from being on the bus for some 12 hours with only the food and drink we had bought back in Toronto. My cousin and his wife who live in Windsor came and rescued me from the bus station on Monday morning, and later that day my parents made their way over to Windsor to pick me up. Following that we still had two more days off school until the roads in the neighborhoods were all cleared and things back to normal. Still remember 1976 being a bad winter where we got snow so frequently that all we had were ruts down our street and it was difficult to get out of the neighborhood onto the main roads, without getting stuck day after day. And in April 1976 we had a freak ice storm as well. | |||
Cklwbig8 Member Username: Cklwbig8 Post Number: 118 Registered: 02-2005 |
winter time Windsor 1974/75 from super 8 film !!
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Cklwbig8 Member Username: Cklwbig8 Post Number: 119 Registered: 02-2005 |
Sorry here it is again.. winter in Windsor (grandparents house) 1974/75 from super 8 film !  | |||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 513 Registered: 04-2006 |
'99 was a really bad winter in Detroit. | |||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 215 Registered: 02-2007 |
What about the '05 blizzard that left a foot everywhere in SE Michigan (PARTICULARLY IN DETROIT). I remember that day perfectly. It started that late Friday Night and then moderate to Heavy Snow was reported for most of Saturday (particularly midday) at all the reporting stations and there's was a lot of blowing and dirfting also. The snow was actually near my knees. AS a matter of fact, that was the same year I believe we had a thundersnow storm that left a half a foot before changing over to ice. That's the last storm I remember. I always thought that year was pretty active. The clipper systems that did come through that year least always left a 2-4 inch swath. (Message edited by Urbanize on March 17, 2007) | |||
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100 Post Number: 619 Registered: 12-2006 |
Yeah, a surefire school shut down, had it not been during my break! I was ticked about that. Then there was the one 3 months later on a Saturday that left another foot. | |||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 216 Registered: 02-2007 |
Oh, the freak April storm of ('03)? I remember. It would of dumped a foot of snow over the city if the grounds wasn't so warm. It snowed non-stop for 24-36 hours. | |||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3834 Registered: 08-2004 |
Yes I remember the 1965 storm... school was closed... and boy was there a lot of snow to shovel! As already mentioned, the winter of 1999 is the worst I can remember. Not a huge amount of snow all at once, but over several weeks of subzero weather the snow just kept piling up higher and higher... we were running out of room to shovel it. | |||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 1725 Registered: 12-2005 |
Snowblowers weren't an option for us. They appeared here in the 60s. Dad would hand us a shovel and lock us out of the house until the driveway was clear. I exaggerate but not by much. |
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