Tracking Southeast Michigan's precipitation deficit. Relief on the way this weekend
If you've been paying close attention to our local weather, you might be wondering how we are faring with moisture as we march toward spring.
The good news is that, for now, drought conditions remain minimal across Southeast Michigan. However, the situation changes quite a bit just a short drive away
South of the state line in Ohio, drought conditions are much stronger and more entrenched.
While we are avoiding drought classifications locally, we are still running noticeably behind schedule on our precipitation.
Since Jan. 1, we've recorded just 1.8 inches of water. Our historical average for this time of year is 4.63 inches, which leaves us with a fairly substantial year-to-date deficit of 2.83 inches.
We are even trailing last year's pace, when we had already picked up 2.72 inches of water by this point on the calendar.
So, where is the disconnect?
A major factor is the exact type of winter weather we've been dealing with recently. We've seen our share of winter precipitation, but much of it has been a very icy type of snow.
This specific frozen precipitation holds a surprisingly low liquid water equivalent.
It might look like a lot on the ground, but once it melts, it simply doesn't yield much usable liquid for our soil and local watersheds. Fortunately, the pattern is shifting just in time to help us chip away at that deficit.
The forecast through the upcoming weekend features a much wetter setup. We are currently expecting widespread rainfall totals of a half-inch to 1 inch across Southeast Michigan.
While this won't completely erase our 2.83-inch shortfall in one go, this soaking rain is exactly what we need as we transition into the warmer months.