Extreme Michigan Weather

Don't like the weather in Michigan? Wait ten minutes.

It's an old joke, but one that shows how temperamental the weather in the Great Lakes State can be---and how much the residents enjoy talking about it. Paul Gross, a popular Detroit television meteorologist, shows readers exactly how extreme the weather in Michigan can be, from heat waves to bitter snows, ice storms to tornadoes, floods to high winds.

Gross delves into the mysteries of extreme weather, explaining how the state's harshest extremes and biggest storms come to be, helping readers to understand and truly appreciate what greets them when they step outside each day. Weather in Michigan is memorable---nearly everyone can remember when an ice storm knocked out power for a week, when lightning hit a tree nearby, a snowstorm interrupted big plans, or record high temperatures allowed people to play golf in January. This is an opportunity to understand how those things are possible.

In addition to an exploration of the state's weather extremes, Gross also provides detailed weather data (daily record highs, lows, precipitation and snowfall) from twenty-two cities around the state, allowing you to see just how normal---or unusual---the day's weather might be.

Paul Gross is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist who works as a broadcast meteorologist for WDIV-TV, Detroit, Michigan.

Cover photo: Tornado crosses Black Lake, fifteen miles southeast of Cheboygan, October 18, 2007. Courtesy of Dr. Nathan and Sheri Krinsky.