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In Northeast Michigan, cold isn’t just cold

Does there come a certain point in the winter when the temperature doesn’t much matter?

After all, cold is cold … correct?

You and I both know that isn’t true. Seventeen degrees feels quite different depending on whether there is any wind or not or what the humidity is at the time. A damp 17 feels quite different than a dry 17. A windy 17 feels bone-chilling compared to a calm 17.

If the weather prognosticators know anything and are correct, then, about today and tomorrow, you might want to stop reading and throw another log on the fire. You might want to add another layer to your clothing today and, for Heaven’s sake, by all means, bundle up if you are heading outside.

Our friends over at the National Weather Service in Gaylord offer us these words of wisdom about the weekend.

“A blast of arctic air will arrive on Friday, settling over the Upper Great Lakes through the weekend. Nighttime temperatures in the single digits to teens below zero will be common across northern Michigan, producing wind chills of -10 to -30 at times through Monday morning. Daytime highs on Sunday will struggle to even climb out of the single digits above zero.”

Looking at a graphic they have supplied, the wind chill Sunday morning for Alpena is predicted to be -20 degrees, while in Rogers City it is predicted to be -19 degrees.

Just typing those numbers on the keyboard has made my fingers numb. Which reminds me — remember that, in weather conditions like this, frostbite can occur within 30 minutes.

Weather service folks remind residents to cover exposed skin, limit time spent outdoors, and dress in lightweight, warm layers.

And, since I’ve chosen weather as the topic of this column this morning, how does our area’s snowfall stack up, statistically, this year?

According to National Weather Service personnel, Alpena to date has received 31.5 inches of snow, which is down 6.3 inches from what is considered normal for this time of year. Of course, of that 31.5 inches of snow, there remains a significant base and, because of the cold temperatures, that base is going to remain for quite awhile. An average winter for snowfall in the region is 84.3 inches.

Whether we experience that amount this year or not I don’t know. My only request of Mother Nature would be, please don’t give us a repeat of last year’s multiple late snowfalls in April that seemed to dampen the spirit of all of us for several weeks.

Elsewhere across northern Michigan, the weather has been the same as Alpena. Traverse City is 30.9 inches below normal snowfall, Petoskey is 10.1 inches below and Gaylord, right in the heart of Michigan’s snowbelt, is 28 inches below normal.

Naturally, we can’t do much more than complain about the weather.

As for me, I’m grabbing another cup of coffee and turning the electric blanket up another notch.

Stay warm, dear reader.

Bill Speer can be reached at 989-354-3111, ext. 311, or bspeer@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @billspeer13.

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