TL/DR –
Michigan experienced a mild February with record-breaking temperatures, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. An unusual event for this time of year, it was followed by more standard winter weather conditions. Climate change has made all seasons more volatile, but according to Melissa Widhalm, the associate director of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center at Purdue University, winter is changing more rapidly than any other season, particularly in the Great Lakes region.
Unusual February Weather in Michigan Sparks Questions About Climate Change
A mild end to February has seen record-breaking temperatures, thunderstorms and tornadoes in Michigan. This unusual weather, complete with snowflakes in some areas, is not typical for a Michigan February.
WWJ’s Zach Clark on his Daily J podcast questions if Michigan’s winter can still be classified as such. His guests, meteorologists and climate change experts, discuss this “weather whiplash”.
Early Wednesday, an EF-1 tornado hit Calhoun County followed by an EF-2 in Genesee County’s Grand Blanc. National Weather Service forecaster Steve Considine claims such weather during this time of year is “fairly unusual”.
Considine points out the unusual springlike airmass in place late February as the cause of Wednesday’s wild storms. Melissa Widhalm, the associate director of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center at Purdue University, adds that climate change has made all seasons more volatile, especially winter in the Great Lakes region.
Data observations and computer models show that winter has been changing rapidly over the last century. This transformation is particularly evident in the Great Lakes region.
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