Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

An unprecedented cold blast surged into the western U.S. in late September 1926 bringing record lows and the earliest snow to some locations.  It bottomed out at 9 below zero at Yellowstone Park—a continental U.S. record low for September.  A mountainous station in Oregon fell to 2 above, a record September low for that state.  In Washington, Spokane had its earliest measurable snow on record during this early arctic blast. 

The cold blast of September 1926 was preceded by a devastating hurricane in Florida.  The Great Miami Hurricane passed right over the fledgling city on the 18th with a 15-foot storm surge and 125 mph winds (Image 1).  Few people evacuated because of late warning and lack of experience with hurricanes.  Many were killed in the initial storm surge, while more died in the second blast after the calm eye-wall passed over the city.  The storm then moved out over the Gulf and blasted the western panhandle and Alabama before dissipating over Louisiana. 

This storm preceded a major pattern shift over the rest of the country.  As the storm weakened inland over the Lower Mississippi Valley, the first strong push of cool air surged the Northern Rockies into the Plains as a major upper-air trough dug into the western U.S. (Image 2)  Then a strong low moved through the Pacific Northwest on September 22, and lifted across the Northern Plains the next day.  Behind this low, the record arctic air mass dumped into the northwestern U.S. 

Over the Upper Peninsula, cool air poured in with the first surge on September 22.  The high in Marquette only reached 57 with a chilly low of 39.  The next day, the U.S. Weather Bureau (UWB) reporter noted cloudy, cold threatening weather with a high of 56 and low of 37.  The day Yellowstone hit 9 below, it warmed a little to 59 as the low ushering in the cold front passed to the north.  It was the next day that Upper Michigan had a real taste of the coming cold season.  On September 25, 1926, the UWB observer reported a “high sea running all day” as strong westerly winds powered in cold air.  The high only reached 44 with a low of 32.  The day ended 17 degrees below the long-term average.  The next morning a “killing temperature” of 31 was noted, though only light frost was observed on the rubberized roof where the weather station was located.  It took until Monday, September 27^th for the temperature to warm back to normal after this early cold blast. 

The month of September 1926 ended 4.7 degrees below average in Marquette.  It then stayed on the cold side of average through the end of the year.  October was 3.7 below average, November 4.5 below and December 1926 closed out at 2.5 degrees below normal.  Ironically as 1927 began, milder air took hold.  January was just a bit below average while February and March 1927 were both well above normal.

It appears we are heading for our first below average month since last September.  Through yesterday, the mean temperature is running 2.2 degrees below average.  Temperatures this week will likely be a little below average.  While it may moderate a bit late in the week, the overall pattern does not appear to be conducive to a strong warming trend.