Respite...

Having a temporary respite today from the recurring thunderstorm syndrome...to just plain cloudy & quite cool, down into the 40s & not hitting 50 'til about an hour ago. But not to worry, the NWS says we'll be back to the new "normal" (of storms & mid-60° temps) tomorrow.......

Nevertheless, during a brief lull in the action yesterday afternoon, managed to take some more photos outside the house, mostly of the front shrubs which have been flowering in brilliant white since last week. Which was an eagerly awaited opportunity, especially now that the lilac blooms have gone. Not sure how to identify these bushes, but they remind me of the ones Mom used to call "mock orange" that fronted the brooder coops back on the farm. {Note: the bushes have been identified...they're Spiraea, according to nextdoor neighbor...my friend Jeremy's spelling tip led to a specific ID of Vanhoutte Spiraea.}

[Click here for updated weather data.]

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Public Information Statement
Statement as of 5:00 am EDT on May 24, 2004

... Record rains across southwest lower Michigan...

Through the first 23 days of May... rainfall totals have exceeded or are approaching record levels in the cities of Grand Rapids... Lansing and Muskegon. Here are the monthly totals (through midnight on the 24th)... along with normals for those cities:

Location	May total	May normal
Grand Rapids	8.28 inches	3.35 inches
Lansing	9.61 inches	2.71 inches
Muskegon	7.43 inches	2.95 inches

The Grand Rapids total now stands as the 4th wettest May on record... Lansing is the wettest May on record... and Muskegon is the second wettest May on record. The Muskegon total is only 0.02 inches away from the record.

Here are the previous top ten wettest Mays (in inches) for Grand Rapids... Lansing and Muskegon. May 2004 is not included in this list.

Grand Rapids Amount/year	Lansing Amount/year	Muskegon Amount/year
10.01/2001	7.97/1943	7.45/2000
9.59/2000	7.42/1945	6.48/1990
8.29/1981	6.98/2000	6.20/1904
7.18/1911	6.57/1912	5.72/1905
6.83/1942	6.57/1989	5.62/1933
6.63/1976	6.07/2001	5.62/1984
6.49/1956	5.92/1892	5.26/1921
6.31/1929	5.72/1938	5.25/1945
6.25/1938	5.65/1883	5.11/1976
5.97/1905	5.59/1880	4.94/1956