GRAND RAPIDS (WKZO-AM/FM) — It should come as no surprise that this past month featured abnormally mild weather in the area, in fact one area forecaster says it’s on track to becoming the warmest February on record in west Michigan.
Meteorologist T.J. Turnage with the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids says there were only two other recorded Februarys that come close in the past century.
This past month had an average temperature that was about nine degrees above what is typical in Kalamazoo. Turnage said the next three days are all expected to have higher than normal temperatures too to close out the month.
And its not just warmer than normal in west Michigan. Its a global phenomenon that follows a string of warmer than normal months and years.
Turnage said milder winters will likely become the norm in west Michigan, if they aren’t already.
He also said global warming is real and temperatures are expected to get warmer on average in the years ahead. Still, he said you may not want to get rid of your snowblower, because it’s not expected to impact the lake effect and all the snow it brings to the region.