One of the darkest Januarys in the previous 100 years occurred in Michigan. This is the reason.
LANSING: Where have your sunglasses been hiding, you ask? It’s understandable if you can’t discover them because they haven’t been used in a while.
It is a relief that the light is returning after a gloomier than usual January. The amount of time the sun shone was so low that it tied for the second-darkest January in the previous century.
One of the darkest states in the union, Michigan, is home to one of the country’s few or exclusive public sunshine sensors.
Here’s how meteorologists measure sunshine and the sun’s history in Michigan’s winters since 1903.
How can we tell when night falls?
According to data from the photoelectric sensor located at the National Weather Service station in Grand Rapids, there was only approximately 8% of daylight in January. Normally, it is about 22%.
Grand Rapids, which has more lake effect, which can increase clouds and block out a weaker winter sun, is what the sunshine sensor reads, according to him. However, the state only has one such system in place.
Although an earlier version of the sensor tracked sunlight as early as 1903, the current one has been in use since the 1950s.
Only 1998, with 6% sun, was darker than January 2024 during that century of data. At 8%, Januarys in 2003 and 2004 were similarly gloomy.
It has been gloomy in other winter months. There were two Decembers with 8% sun: 1987 and 2002. February sunshine only fell below 10% once, that being in 2004.
However, February is typically a sunny month.
month, so the state should anticipate seeing the sun more frequently, though it won’t be consistent until April or May, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Nathan Jeruzal.
How about the sunshine in Lansing?
Cloud cover serves as a stand-in for a sunshine sensor in the Lansing area, according to meteorologist and deputy emergency manager Rob Dale of Ingham County.
He reported that clouds covered about 27 out of the 31 days in the month, or almost 87%.
It wasn’t always sunny, as Dale stated.
The National Weather Service reports that there were no days in Muskegon in January with partial cloudy conditions (between 40% and 80% cloud cover, which can include midnight). Lansing had four partly overcast days and no sunny days, while Jackson had six partially cloudy days and one sunny day.
According to Dale, the clouds kept the month warm overall, even during a severe cold spell that unloaded the most significant cold of the season.
According to National Weather Service statistics, the average temperature for the month was 22 degrees at night and 30 degrees during the day, or around the typical high and 5 degrees warmer than the normal low.
Dale said, The days weren’t too hot, and the mornings weren’t too cold.
What about those sunglasses, then?
Finding those shades is probably a smart idea, since the next several days are predicted to have more sun than there was in January.
The most well-known groundhog did not see its shadow in Pennsylvania on Friday, February 2. That usually signals an earlier conclusion to the harshest of winters for the groundhog. But Woody the Woodchuck, an annual tradition from Howell, did, so it’s debatable if Michigan will have six more weeks of winter.
The Grand Rapids sensor observed 45% of the sun on Groundhog Day.
According to Jeruzal, the sun is predicted to remain for the first several days of the workweek before returning to lower temperatures and perhaps precipitation.
He stated, We’ll be gradually increasing the amount of sunshine as spring approaches. We anticipate a fair amount of sunshine through Wednesday, and in advance of the following system, clouds should start to build up about Thursday. After that, there should be cloud cover for the rest of next week and into the weekend.
