Major ice storm, wildfire smoke, tornadoes: Recapping 2023's biggest weather stories - WWMT-TV

Major ice storm, wildfire smoke, tornadoes: Recapping 2023's biggest weather stories | WWMT

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The weather took center stage in our headlines plenty of times throughout 2023.

An ice storm, smoky skies, a couple tornadoes, snow on Halloween; the list goes on.

With the year coming to a close, we're taking a look back at some of West Michigan's biggest weather stories of the year, one season at a time.

2023 started off tame by January standards, especially when it came to temperatures. The month concluded as the third warmest on record in Kalamazoo, which contributed to a nearly nonexistent season for ice fishing.

Temperatures finally corrected toward the end of January, and we saw several days of minor snow accumulation. We ended the month with just over 10 inches of snow in Kalamazoo, about half of what we see on average.

February continued the theme, ending as 7th warmest on record in Kalamazoo with less than an inch of snow. It was the least amount of snow we'd seen during the month of February since 1998.

Mild temperatures during the winter also led to a lack of ice on Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes as a whole.

That's not to say all of February was a cake walk though. Arguably the biggest weather event of the year was looming just around the corner.

With reports of up to 3/4 inch ice accumulation on some tree limbs, a major ice storm on Feb. 22 caused over 700,000 Michiganders to lose power, many for several days.

Kalamazoo County declared a state of emergency at the height of the storm's impact.

Ice remained on trees into the following day, scenes captured from above by Sky Eye 3. Thousands of trees across West Michigan were brought down due to the weight of ice on limbs and branches.

The last time we'd seen an ice storm of this magnitude was back in December 2013.

After very little to start the year, March brought more snow than January and February combined. This came with plenty temperature fluctuation throughout the month.

West Michigan dealt with a winter storm towards the beginning of the month, only days after the state of emergency was lifted following February's ice storm. Kalamazoo measured 6.5 inches of snow, but up to 8 inches were reported in some spots.

A few smaller snow events weeks later brought the monthly total to nearly 17 inches in Kalamazoo, making March 2023 the 10th snowiest on record. Looking at rain and snow combined, it was the wettest March on record.

An incredible display of the northern lights happened across much of the U.S. on Mar. 23, 2023. While clouds for the most part spoiled the show over West Michigan, the geomagnetic storm produced an impressive display across northern Michigan.

March ended with our first severe thunderstorm warnings of the year in West Michigan. Severe storms produced hail up to 1.5" to 2" in the Sturgis area. These storms were part of a much more impressive severe weather outbreak across the central U.S., which included a devastating tornado in Little R ock, Arkansas.

April started with a few heavy rain events, which eventually led to some flooding along the Thornapple, Grand and M uskegon Rivers.

West Michigan then got an early taste of summer with a stretch of four consecutive days in the 80s from Apr. 12-15, 2023. Kalamazoo set a new record on Apr. 14 with a high of 85 degrees, with several other locations breaking or tying daily records.

It was around that time News Channel 3 also experienced a bomb threat at the station, prompting and evacuation from the building. The on-air forecast on Apr. 13, 2023 looked a little different as a result.

In true Pure Michigan fashion, this early dose of warmth was followed up with a shot of cold and slushy snow on Apr. 17, 2023.

May brought our first encounter with wildfire smoke of the warm season, something that we'd get used to through the middle part of summer.

By the end of the month, Memorial Day weekend brought ample sunshine and heat.

High temperatures hit the lower 90s to end the month, two consecutive days after Memorial Day.

The hot and dry pattern which began toward the end of May continued into early June. A stretch of abnormally dry weather led to worsening drought conditions across West Michigan in the early part of summer.

A large brush fire broke out along I-94 in early May, causing traffic to back up for miles.

Drought was even more extreme in portions of Canada. This contributed to the worst year for wildfires in Canada since at least 1983. Fires burned more than twice the area of the previous record set in 1995.

The record year for Canadian wildfires brought several instances of smoky skies across much of the US. From mid-May through July, there were several times Michigan saw the impacts of smoke both elevated and near the surface.

It seemed like the summer of air quality alerts, with several instances where conditions were considered very unhealthy to be outside.

In an otherwise fairly nondescript summer, West Michigan did see a few bouts of severe weather and heat.

A brief EF1 tornado happened in Colon on Jul. 12, 2023. It was the first tornado to touch down in St. Joseph County in six years, and the first we'd seen in the News Channel 3 viewing area since 2021.

The Colon EF1 tornado ripped the roof off of a storage facility, but did not cause any injuries or deaths.

A little more than a month later, seven tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in Michigan by the National Weather Service on Aug. 24, 2023.

Only one of the tornadoes touched down in the News Channel 3 viewing area. A higher-end EF1 was confirmed about 5 miles north of Grand Rapids, causing damage through Alpine and Plainfield Townships.

According to data from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, Michigan saw 19 tornadoes across the state in 2023. That's the most Michigan tornadoes in a single year since 2010, and six more than the 25-year average of 13 per year.

The Aug. 24 tornado event came on the heels of two days of serious heat and humidity. Highs reached 93 degrees in Kalamazoo on Aug. 23 and 24, with a heat index in the lower triple digits.

There were 17 days at or above 90 degrees this summer in the Kalamazoo area, about four more than average. The last of the 90s of the season happened Labor Day weekend, setting up the perfect farewell to all things summer.

October rolled in with a stretch of four days in the middle 80s, giving West Michigan a late dose of mid-summer warmth.

In a strange juxtaposition, our first freeze of the season during the morning of Oct. 23 was followed up with a record breaking high of 80 degrees on Oct. 24.

In an otherwise unexciting October for the weather department, Halloween brought much colder air and our first batch of lake effect snow of the season. Lake effect snow smashed a record in Muskegon with some accumulation reports up to 11 inches.

Lakeshore communities in Ottawa and Muskegon County saw the most snow on Halloween, but several inches also accumulated in parts of Allegan and Van Buren County. We measured closer to a half inch at the News Channel 3 building just south of downtown Kalamazoo.

This same system also led to several waterspouts across the Great Lakes on Nov. 1, with 6 spotted from our lakeshore over Lake Michigan.

A much quieter weather pattern returned throughout the first half of November, with warmer than average temperatures and plenty of sun. Temperatures finally dropped towards the end of the month, with a few days of accumulating snow towards the end of the month.

December 2023 will be remembered for its lack of cold and snow.

Temperatures are on track to round out the month as the 2nd or 3rd warmest December on record in Kalamazoo, and likely the second warmest December on record in Grand Rapids.

It was anything but a white Christmas this year, with highs hitting 59 degrees in Kalamazoo on Dec. 25. It was the second warmest Christmas on record in Kalamazoo, beat by a remarkable 65 degree high in 1982.

This near-record warm month contributed to a lack of snow as well. With the exception of one impactful lake effect snow event on Dec. 18, Old Man Winter essentially took a back seat.

Whatever wacky weather comes our way in 2024, we hope to continue earning your trust in keeping West Michigan weather aware.

Follow meteorologist Will Haenni on X& wchaenni@sbgtv.com.