Brrr. Had to Turn the Heat Back on Today at Least it Didn't Snow Here
By Marsha
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
Midland, Michigan
April 30, 2017 11:48am CST
I've been trying to figure out which days we can work cleaning windows this coming week because we seem to be getting the rain that is more normal for April. Of course it does rain every month, at least in Michigan, but it's 'April showers that bring May flowers' and we got more rain in January and February than we did this month.
Once thing that I do when preparing jobs for the upcoming week is I'll look at the forecast. It's supposed to rain more days than not at this point unless things change. I also look at the maps that show the systems coming in. While looking to see how far out the storm was I noticed that Colorado and nearby states were getting some snow, in fact, I heard this morning at church that the line of snow and rain switched just around Wisconsin.
The difficulty with scheduling work is we might not schedule for a day that says 60% chance of rain and then it doesn't rain at all, or plan a lot of work and find the forecast switched at the last moment or after I looked last and it ends up raining most of the day. Also, two of my guys live thirty minutes away and they need a bit of a warning to be here fast enough.
As far as turning on our heat, every year I hope it will warm up slowly so we can turn it off and allow the house to cool off naturally before it gets crazy hot outside. We've had days of almost 80 degrees recently *(25 C) and the cooler days haven't been too bad. Today it's only 45, *(10 C) and getting chillier inside. My husband decided we should turn on the heat to take out the chill and then turn it off again. He's the one that gets too hot in here, but whatever.
13 people like this
13 responses
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
30 Apr 17
I do the same as you with the weather, I reckon because I used to run a roofing company. But I do it now for the rental property work.
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
30 Apr 17
Do you do the work yourself with your rentals or maybe you clean them out between people but have guys that will do actual repairs? If you clean them, it's not fun dragging all your cleaning supplies in and out of places in the pouring rain.
We cleaned an Edward Jones place years ago, in the evenings and I hated doing it in the winter months when I had to carry the vacuum, mops and other items in and out and through the snow. At least the walkways were usually shoveled by then unless it snowed recently.
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
30 Apr 17
hope the good weather kicks in for you soon
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
1 May 17
@MarshaMusselman I hate snow
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
8 May 17
@arthurchappell I don't like it anymore either especially since I'm the main snow removal person for our household. My daughter moved back home recently maybe she'll help me out this coming winter.
I'm hopeful that after we retire and if we get the majority of our debt paid off that we can move to a warmer climate one day.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
1 May 17
We've had warmer weather off and on many weeks since January. I like when it's warmer, but not so much when it gets cold again. At least we didn't get any snow.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
5 May 17
We have lots of rain coming tomorrow and all weekend. Our drought is over.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
8 May 17
@MarshaMusselman The called it severe drought and they still refer to it that way, every so often they will say it has eased the conditions. I think that part of the state is still considered under severe drought.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
8 May 17
Did they call it a drought or was it just that you didn't have as much rain as normal for that month or something? We had less in April than normal, but it's surely making up for it this month as we've had just about three days per week of some rain or at least in the forecast.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
12 May 17
@BelleStarr Ok. Maybe they were saying the same thing for our area last month too, I don't really know since I don't listen to or watch any news. I just use the weather channel to determine whether to plan work or not or what to wear.
@LadyDuck (458077)
• Switzerland
1 May 17
@MarshaMusselman We only get a very little snow, I did not need to shovel, because it started raining soon after and it melted the snow.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
8 May 17
@LadyDuck Either last Monday or the week before we had almost 80 temps on one day, but this weekend and the coming week will be okay in the day - 50's - 60's but down to the 30's in the nighttime. Because of that I'm thinking the days will still feel nippy even if it does get into the 60's.
Today was 60. It looked gorgeous outside, but we didn't want to stay out there too long. I actually wore my winter jacket before supper when we went to my brothers because I don't like being cold and I knew the temps would drop after the sun went down again.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
1 May 17
There is snow with the systems moving across the United States, and my husband said a chance of snow later today here too, but I'm sure it won't be much if it does show up. I usually wait until May to put my shovels away and did it last week. Maybe I jinxed things, lol.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
1 May 17
I was surprised when I realized that particular day that it'd gotten up that high. Many times the thermostat outside will show higher temps but it's because the sun is hitting it. But on that day it was later and the sun over the house by then. In 2012 we had the first and second week of March in the mid-eighties. That was a major fluke. It was so warm that all the trees budded and the fruit trees blossomed. Then a month later we got a killer frost which killed all the growth on the fruit trees. They never recovered that year since our growing season is rather short and doesn't allow for two harvests for fruits. Even the regular green trees lost their buds and leaves, but those did come back again.
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
1 May 17
@paigea Definitely. We have a lot of cherry trees in Traverse City and apple trees throughout the state. That fall the apple cider prices were sky high and it didn't last as long as normal into the winter either, and there weren't many cherries out that year either.
@paigea (35680)
• Canada
1 May 17
@MarshaMusselman wow that was quite a setback for the plants
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
30 Apr 17
We don't have central heating...Air conditioners are becoming common but the electric bill comes high
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@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
1 May 17
Do you not neat the heating systems in your part of India? I've heard and seen pictures from someone where it does snow somewhere there, but I don't know how long it lasts or whether the temps are cold to go along with the snow.
In the USA in many places the air conditioning is more costly than the heat is. I don't know why that is although many of us have gas for our furnaces and that is a bit cheaper than electric in some places. When my dad built his house, the house I grew up in, he put electric heaters along the outer walls because at that time electric heat was rather cheap. It's changed through the years though.
Some people have water going through units along the walls while some places have radiators, single units in each room. There are many variations. Some even use wood stoves or similar stoves that take corn or pellets to heat their home with.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
1 May 17
@responsiveme If it's run mostly when it's the hottest maybe that keeps the bills lower? If we have air one day in the future, my concern is that I'll be wearing a lot of sweaters inside the house, for my husband will want it colder than I would. But, I'm hoping if that day ever comes we can have it on to take away the sweating but not so low that I get chilled.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
1 May 17
@MarshaMusselman I live in the northeastern part so there is no need of heaters..in winters for a month or so people enjoy a woodfire in thecourtyard.That and a quilt is enough.
The house is not heated as you mentioned...it is always fascinating to watch movies where it is snowing outside but people do not have woolens inside their houses.
Now in the north western part ofIndia it is severely cold but there too I think it is only fireplaces and stoves. Central heating is not the norm..
The buidings have then got to be designed like what you mentioned.
ACs are needed through in the hot summer months ...its the latest item that everybody is buying even in small towns...electric bills are costly though.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
30 Apr 17
Have you had it on most of the week or did it just get colder with the storm system that looks like it's headed to Canada too? Did you type that correctly? Did you mean 22 Celcius because that would be in the seventies Fahrenheit which is fairly warm. Although we do have some elderly that keep their heat on when it's warmer outside or at least until they know that summer is here to stay. So, maybe that is what you meant?
Yesterday, I was cold in the house even though it was 60 F (10 C ish), outside it didn't really feel like it to me as the wind was colder. But I left the heat off. I think my husband could have put on a sweater today instead of turn on the heat. In fact, I'm comfortable in here right now, I should turn it down more until tonight and then decide whether to have it up again or not. He did open the window last night, though, by his bed, so if he did that tonight, I'd hit him, or want to that is.
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
30 Apr 17
No, it won't last and that's why I really didn't want to turn the heat back on again. I don't heat up too much in the house until it's in the nineties for a week, but my husband will be hot before it gets to seventy. That's why each year I hope we can keep it off by a certain date and leave it alone. But, invariably each and every year we need to get the chill out only to wish a few days later that we'd left it alone.
As far as I'm concerned I'd rather have to wear my coat for a day or two and have happier people when it warms up again than to turn on the heat even for a short time.
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
30 Apr 17
We turned ours on this morning too. It is cold here - hopefully for a short time.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
1 May 17
It's cold today, and twenty degrees warmer tomorrow, then back to the same as today on Tuesday but up about eight degrees, and then back up the twenty degrees again until the end of the week. Today was more like March weather, not April and not almost May.
1 person likes this
@CRK109 (14558)
• United States
2 May 17
I know a lot of people around here who have had to turn the heat back on for a little bit. While I was out this morning, I definitely needed a jacket because of the chill in the air. It was raining quite a bit, but now it seems the sun is trying to come out, so I do believe some warmth might be trying to come our way.
@chrissbergstrom (10767)
• Banks, Oregon
30 Apr 17
Oh gosh I am.so over snow we are finally getting warmer weather here
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
1 May 17
Do you get a lot of snow there? I thought mostly you got a lot of rain, but maybe the rain is the rest of the year after you get to enjoy the snow through the winter?
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
30 Apr 17
I had to turn my heat on this morning too. It was pretty chilly in here.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
1 May 17
I think a lot of us are getting the same weather system as it began off the coast near Louisiana and continued north. Some of it began west though and both systems merged south of us and are continuing east and north into Canada. It looks like portions of Canada north of Michigan may get a bit more snow from it too.
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
1 May 17
@MarshaMusselman wow that is crazy. Snow this time of year is rare.
@MarshaMusselman (38652)
• Midland, Michigan
30 Apr 17
Not 100% no. Years ago we cancelled work one day when the forecast was 90% chance of rain and it never rained that day. We've also been in the middle of a job that we have to remove all the storms first and then it began pouring. Even if we'd left we would have had to put the storms back again first. I gave the outside person the option to stay or leave and he said stay. We probably should have left, but made it work.
Just last week I didn't schedule for two days that it was supposed to rain almost constantly both days. I looked at the weather map and it looked like it would be correct. I should have looked again that morning because we never did get anything one day and barely anything the next. Then on Friday we did work, and although it didn't rain it was chillier. Not as chilly as today, though.
I may have to schedule on a tentative basis and decide an hour before doing it whether to proceed or not. That way we'd at least have something planned if the rain misses us. The problem is many don't want us there if it may rain later in the week, although some people know that it will clean their windows enough, and usually they won't be too bad after it rains again.
Some years it will mainly rain at night and those are much easier to work around.
