I was hoping to meet you at the Milwaukee show but never made it. I've always loved the snow and last year was my first trip up to the great land. I'm new to snowmobiling and love it. I'm in my 40's now and always looking for that perfect get away property. I need to get away from the heat of Illinois in the summer and play in some real snow. Besides north of the bridge what area of the UP do you feel offers the best weather west of Marquette. Thanks for this great site and look forward to visiting the UP again this winter.
Weather in the UP of Michigan
- Thread starter woodey8
- Start date
Let's see must in or near the main lake effect snow belt. The area must be around 10 degrees cooler on average in the summer than Chicago suburbs or Kankakee, Illinois to be exact. Would love to see lower humidity in the summer but that might be hard to achieve being close to the big lake. Clean water with low air and noise pollution. Also would the elevation difference of the UP play much of a role in the overall weather? So far on my search for areas that intrest me only on climate would be Toivola south to Greenland. Watersmeet area is of another intrest. The other area is around Michigamme, Threelakes,Herman or Spurr Township. I guess out of these areas what would be their main climate differences be? How would these areas compare to where you live? Why did you choose your location?thanks in advance for your input
Ok, with that info I can give you these morsels of info.
First, Lake Superior is not going to increase the humidity in the summer. It's waters are typically much cooler than the summer time air temps and thus the water is slow to evaporate from it. You may get some fog to form near the lake on very humid days, but that is because the air is actually being cooled by the lake to the dewpoint, not because humidity is being added to the air.
Which brings up my next point. The closer you are to the lake in the warm season, the cooler you will be. Lake Superior acts like a giant air conditioner all summer long. I have been in 90 degree temps in areas away from the lake and gone down to the lake shore and temps will be 25-30 degrees cooler right down by the lake. So if you were afraid to be too close to the lake because it would make things less comfortable in the summer, you need to turn that thinking around 180 degrees. The closer to the lake you are, the cooler it will be in the summer.
As for air pollution, we have little to none of it in all of the UP all year long. Again, the closer to the lake the clearer the air, just because the lake produces zero air pollution, so when the winds are from off the lake, the air closest to the lake will be the most free from any pollution, but the bottom line is, air pollution in the UP will be one of your least concerns living in the UP!
Elevation does play a role in how much snow flies. So areas right along the Lake Superior shoreline will typically not get as much snow as those inland a bit (but still in the main LES belt) and at a higher elevation. Examples of this is the amount of snow in Ontonagon vs. Rockland or Eagle River (MI) vs. Phoenix (just 2 miles away from each other). Obviously, the further inland you go the better chance you have of getting out of the main LES bands.
Here is a map that I produced years ago showing the primary and secondary LES belts:
Within that map I could have drawn what could be called the enhanced-primary areas, or perhaps more plainly put "the big dump zones". One area would run north of a line from roughly Ironwood MI to the midway point between Baraga and Houghton, with a bit of a sag south in the line to include most of the Lake Gogebic area. This area would exclude most locations within a mile or two of the lake shoreline. The second big dump area would be an area from just east of Munising to just south of Paradise that starts inland around a mile or two and extends inland to around 15-20 miles. The average seasonal snows for the different regions would play out something like this:
Big Dump Zone = 180"+
Primary Zone = 100-180"
Secondary Zone = Less than 100"
I chose my spot for a number of reasons:
1st and foremost, we are in the big dump zone for lake effect snow. I researched data for about 10 years and could not find a spot in the UP (east of the Rockies for that matter!) that gets more snow on a 30 year scale.
Secondly, I did not want to be so far out in the sticks that a trip to town was a major event. It is nice to be in the sticks and enjoy the serenity of the Keweenaw and UP, but still have a 10 minute drive to Calumet to get just about anything I need and a 25 minute trip to Houghton/Hancock for pretty much anything else. Don't under value the convenience of having stores near-by. Isolation is nice, until you need that one thing to complete a task or make a meal and then it's not so nice!
Third, the snow season does not last all year long, which means you need something to do in the summer. I love the woods, but I also love the water and beaches. So I wanted to be able to take my hikes in the woods, but also be able to get to the big lake without much of a drive. Living where I do, I am a 10-15 minute drive to either coasts of the Keweenaw and can pick and chose as I want, which is especially nice when picking a beach with an onshore breeze for that natural AC from Lake Superior. Inland lakes are nice too, and we have a handful at my disposal, but they are just not the same as the big lake when it comes to a cooling effect.
Plus, for some reason, the Keweenaw just grabs me in a very special way. Not sure why. I have been to just about every other locale in the UP (with the exception of the far east by the Soo) and they just do not have the same grab as the Keweenaw. This is a personal thing and will differ from individual to individual. So I would say that if you have a place that has that special grab for you, then perhaps that is where you should end up.
Hope this info is helpful to you.
-John
First, Lake Superior is not going to increase the humidity in the summer. It's waters are typically much cooler than the summer time air temps and thus the water is slow to evaporate from it. You may get some fog to form near the lake on very humid days, but that is because the air is actually being cooled by the lake to the dewpoint, not because humidity is being added to the air.
Which brings up my next point. The closer you are to the lake in the warm season, the cooler you will be. Lake Superior acts like a giant air conditioner all summer long. I have been in 90 degree temps in areas away from the lake and gone down to the lake shore and temps will be 25-30 degrees cooler right down by the lake. So if you were afraid to be too close to the lake because it would make things less comfortable in the summer, you need to turn that thinking around 180 degrees. The closer to the lake you are, the cooler it will be in the summer.
As for air pollution, we have little to none of it in all of the UP all year long. Again, the closer to the lake the clearer the air, just because the lake produces zero air pollution, so when the winds are from off the lake, the air closest to the lake will be the most free from any pollution, but the bottom line is, air pollution in the UP will be one of your least concerns living in the UP!
Elevation does play a role in how much snow flies. So areas right along the Lake Superior shoreline will typically not get as much snow as those inland a bit (but still in the main LES belt) and at a higher elevation. Examples of this is the amount of snow in Ontonagon vs. Rockland or Eagle River (MI) vs. Phoenix (just 2 miles away from each other). Obviously, the further inland you go the better chance you have of getting out of the main LES bands.
Here is a map that I produced years ago showing the primary and secondary LES belts:
Within that map I could have drawn what could be called the enhanced-primary areas, or perhaps more plainly put "the big dump zones". One area would run north of a line from roughly Ironwood MI to the midway point between Baraga and Houghton, with a bit of a sag south in the line to include most of the Lake Gogebic area. This area would exclude most locations within a mile or two of the lake shoreline. The second big dump area would be an area from just east of Munising to just south of Paradise that starts inland around a mile or two and extends inland to around 15-20 miles. The average seasonal snows for the different regions would play out something like this:
Big Dump Zone = 180"+
Primary Zone = 100-180"
Secondary Zone = Less than 100"
I chose my spot for a number of reasons:
1st and foremost, we are in the big dump zone for lake effect snow. I researched data for about 10 years and could not find a spot in the UP (east of the Rockies for that matter!) that gets more snow on a 30 year scale.
Secondly, I did not want to be so far out in the sticks that a trip to town was a major event. It is nice to be in the sticks and enjoy the serenity of the Keweenaw and UP, but still have a 10 minute drive to Calumet to get just about anything I need and a 25 minute trip to Houghton/Hancock for pretty much anything else. Don't under value the convenience of having stores near-by. Isolation is nice, until you need that one thing to complete a task or make a meal and then it's not so nice!
Third, the snow season does not last all year long, which means you need something to do in the summer. I love the woods, but I also love the water and beaches. So I wanted to be able to take my hikes in the woods, but also be able to get to the big lake without much of a drive. Living where I do, I am a 10-15 minute drive to either coasts of the Keweenaw and can pick and chose as I want, which is especially nice when picking a beach with an onshore breeze for that natural AC from Lake Superior. Inland lakes are nice too, and we have a handful at my disposal, but they are just not the same as the big lake when it comes to a cooling effect.
Plus, for some reason, the Keweenaw just grabs me in a very special way. Not sure why. I have been to just about every other locale in the UP (with the exception of the far east by the Soo) and they just do not have the same grab as the Keweenaw. This is a personal thing and will differ from individual to individual. So I would say that if you have a place that has that special grab for you, then perhaps that is where you should end up.
Hope this info is helpful to you.
-John
jeffs polaris
Member
I'm in manteno.
arcticgeorge
New member
Glad to see i live in the "Big dump zone". The western UP has some real deals on get away land, search the local real estate web sites.
A great writeup, John, loved it! By the way:
Yes, it's still true today:
The closer to the lake you are, the cooler it will be in the summer.
As for air pollution, we have little to none of it in all of the UP all year long. Again, the closer to the lake the clearer the air, just because the lake produces zero air pollution, so when the winds are from off the lake, the air closest to the lake will be the most free from any pollution, but the bottom line is, air pollution in the UP will be one of your least concerns living in the UP!
Yes, it's still true today:
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teestarr00
Member
Id like to chime in. I am in the dump zone as well and like John said you just have to drive and look around and when you hit that certain area you will know, "this is the place for me".
With that being said, My wife and i chose Rockland as our vacation home along with it being or future retirement home. Great deals to be had just like arcticgeorge mentioned. Rockland is such a great little town with everything we need like a store, gas pump and the famuos "Henrys never inn". We have only been up here a year and every time we come up its just a like our first time and always hard to go home.
We are very much into winter and the beauty that it has to offer is endless and with the big lake and the snowmaker it is, its a win win. This was our first year up here in the summer and i couldn't put into words how its truley Gods country. We bought a side by side and to explore the area is once again endless in its beauty.
Good luck on your search. Tom
With that being said, My wife and i chose Rockland as our vacation home along with it being or future retirement home. Great deals to be had just like arcticgeorge mentioned. Rockland is such a great little town with everything we need like a store, gas pump and the famuos "Henrys never inn". We have only been up here a year and every time we come up its just a like our first time and always hard to go home.
We are very much into winter and the beauty that it has to offer is endless and with the big lake and the snowmaker it is, its a win win. This was our first year up here in the summer and i couldn't put into words how its truley Gods country. We bought a side by side and to explore the area is once again endless in its beauty.
Good luck on your search. Tom
arcticgeorge
New member
.............................."We are very much into winter and the beauty that it has to offer is endless and with the big lake and the snowmaker it is, its a win win. This was our first year up here in the summer and i couldn't put into words how its truley Gods country. We bought a side by side and to explore the area is once again endless in its beauty."...........................Well said teestar00 ! We went to a set of falls for the first time friday on the Prsque Isle River just north of Wakefield Mi. I would encourage people to just go for it, homes are cheap but try to stay within reach of work. Within an hour of like Houghton, Marquette or Ironwood area.
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L
lenny
Guest
John,
I'd love to see where the "enhanced-primary areas" are,,,if you get some time that is.
I'd love to see where the "enhanced-primary areas" are,,,if you get some time that is.
Where my cabin is in the eastern half (Trout Lake) Its beautiful snow can be amazing just out the front door (NOT ALWAYS) fishing is great all year round.. BUUUUUUUUUUUUT, YOU CANNOT BEAT THE WESTERN HALF THE U,P ive trailered there many times to ride and have done back packing trips from my cabin all the way to the west end and back and its like magic once you hit a certain point the snow the trails the back country is so much better. My cabin has been in the family for a long time thats why i dont move or buy somewhere else. but if i did it would be western U,P.. Just my 2 cents