'Mother Nature forgot April Fools was last month:' Snow disheartens weary residents as May begins
Doesn't look like spring for residents in Houghton, Michigan as heavy snow fell in the area on May 1.
Folks in Michigan may have been shocked to wake up on the first day of May to see a blanket of snow outside their windows. Areas in the upper tier of Michigan, around Lake Superior, received several inches of snow on Wednesday.
The May 1 snowfall received mixed reactions from social media users. While many users expressed disappointment, a select few expressed excitement about the latest snowfall.
"I think Mother Nature forgot April Fools was last month.... Okay, Mother Nature, you got us. Very funny, it can stop now," Gogebic Community College student Aubrey Zackal wrote on Twitter, posting a video of the snow near the local middle school in Houghton, Michigan.
Meanwhile, Kristina Perhach, located in Marquette, Michigan, said in a tweet, "I might have been the only person happy to see snow on the first of May."
Despite her tweet, Zackal told AccuWeather that she loves the snow. Zackal has lived in the region nearly her entire life, since she was two-years-old, and loves the snow activities. However, by May, she says that most of those who live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, known as "yoopers," are excited for an end to the snow.
"Yoopers have to deal with the snow from October to May, so when there is finally a sign of summer, everyone is ready for the snow to be completely gone," Zackal said.
Zackal added that it's not uncommon to see some snow flurries in the first weeks of May, but they don’t see much accumulation on the ground.
The National Weather Service (NWS) reports that numerous Michigan localities received over 5 inches of snow, including Marquette, Painesdale and Ely Township.
"It's the first of May in Calumet, but we won't be doing much gardening," tweeted the Keweenaw National Park, located in Calumet, Michigan. (Twitter/@KeweenawNPS)
"Many areas are experiencing rain but the higher elevations are seeing snow accumulate on the roads," the NWS Office in Marquette said in a tweet on Wednesday. "Give yourself extra time today on the roads because they will be slick on some spots."
NWS Marquette measured 5.4 inches of snow on Wednesday, which breaks their previous daily snowfall record of 1.2 inches set on May 1, 2005.
The snow that fell on Wednesday will melt through late week, according to NWS Marquette. After temperatures rose on Thursday, Highs will likely be in the 50s F on Friday, with sunshine.
"The weather pattern will be chilly over the next 10 days and [the region] could possibly see some snow, but nothing we can be confident about," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Paul Walker. "After that point, it becomes less and less likely."
It is not that unusual for the region to get accumulating snow in May, according to Walker. It occurs one out of nine years.
On April 30, 1996, a significant spring snowstorm produced heavy snow across much of west and central Upper Michigan, according to the NWS Marquette. The NWS office recorded 14.9 inches of snow from the storm that occurred 23 years ago.
The mean date for latest accumulating snowfall is April 26. And the latest accumulating snow in Marquette, Michigan, occurred on June 2, 1919.
The 2018-19 winter season was a top ten winter snowfall season at NWS Marquette with 227.1 inches in total. The highest winter snowfall occurred during the 2001-02 season, which received 319.8 inches.
The late snowfall and cold weather that the region has been experiencing is negatively impacting local agriculture.
In western Michigan, this time of year signals the beginning of the fruit season. AccuWeather Reporter Blake Naftel spoke with local farmers in Mattawan, Michigan, about the impact of the harsh weather on their crops.
The upcoming season for various fruit crops remains in question, if not in jeopardy for several crops. Local farmer Bill Shultz told Naftel that his farm's peaches were hit the hardest and his grapes also suffered from the winter conditions.
Several crops have been completely lost by dramatic temperature swings and a harsh winter in 2019.
