Published: January 10, 2008 11:00 pm      

January thaw is on its way out

GAYLORD -- Recent heavy downpours and soaring temperatures may well be gone until spring.

Street gutters flooded, nearly all the snow melted and a heavy blanket of fog covered much of northern Lower Michigan over the last several days, but the thaw is over and winter conditions will return and stay until spring, weather officials said.

"You can tell by the number of records that this was obviously an extreme weather case. It's certainly not rare for a January thaw, but the strength of this thaw was impressive in regard to the temperatures," said Jim Keysor, meteorologist at the National Weather Service station in Gaylord.

So far this month, the area has been more than nine degrees above normal on average, he said.

Traverse City set new temperature records on Sunday with 51 degrees, Monday with 50 degrees and Tuesday with 49 degrees, breaking or tying records set in 1946, 1933 and 2003, respectively. Tuesday's temperature reading of 47 degrees in Gaylord also broke a record from five years ago.

Enough rain fell in Traverse City on Monday to set a record at 1.12 inches.

"We've been moving snow and moving water at the same time. It's unusual, except in the spring," said Bob Cole, director of the Traverse City Department of Public Services.

City street workers spent much of their time early this week clearing leaves and debris from street storm drains and creek culverts because of the heavy rain, Cole said, while others hauled away melting snow banks from downtown areas.

That combination will end, as cold temperatures and snow blow back into the region. Snow removal will become a top priority again.

"The cold air has returned and all the indications show that over the next several weeks, we'll settle into a colder pattern overall," Keysor said.

Snow is forecast through the weekend, with several inches of accumulation expected. Temperatures in the area will remain in the 30s and low 40s this week, but could drop into the 20s over the weekend and into the teens next week.

It will take at least a couple of weeks to rebuild the snow pack, Keysor said.