GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — We are finally starting to see the leaves turn green and the flowers start to bloom here in West Michigan, and it's only going to get more beautiful in the days and weeks ahead!
That's because spring has finally sprung in our neck of the woods, even though it did come a bit late this year. In fact, most of the upper Midwest has seen our first leaves later than we would normally see them in the average spring.
This is not much of a surprise based on our April weather. We saw consistent below average temperatures through the month of April and also set a record for the cloudiest April ever, beating out April 1980.
Overall this late appearance of our spring foliage is not too far off normal, with something like this happening once every one to four years. This is, however, the opposite of our recent climate history, with the average date of the first leaves of spring in Grand Rapids arriving about two days earlier compared to 30 years ago.
This is only true for a portion of West Michigan though, with many other areas, especially along the lakeshore, seeing the first leaves of spring arrive a few days later than in previous decades. In general, most of West Michigan has been fairly stable with regard to the arrival of the first leaves of spring in the past 30 years.
So with our spring bloom right on track here in West Michigan, and finally a warmer pattern of weather on the way, make sure you get out and enjoy the greener pastures ahead, and stick with 13 ON YOUR SIDE for the latest forecasts as you do!
-- Meteorologist Michael Behrens
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Email me at: MBehrens@13OnYourSide.com
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