How would you describe the weather East Lansing has been experiencing this summer?
Well, it is probably important to note that we’ve had very abnormal weather back to the spring, beginning with the milder than normal winter. It was the fourth-mildest winter on record in Michigan. That was followed by an unprecedented heat wave in March, which has never happened before. March was the warmest month on record by far. Beginning in May, we basically got into an unusually dry weather pattern. Since the first weekend in May and up to the present and in the last two or three weeks, we’ve seen unusual heat as well. It’s been very, very abnormal, mainly on the warm side and on the dry side, and it’s been a very strange year. Summer has followed suit from earlier in the season.

What effect has the heat had on the MSU community?
The direct impacts have been most pronounced in the past weeks, with the high heat and recently high humidity. People have probably needed to scale back this week, especially working outdoors. The costs for cooling and air conditioning will be quite a bit higher than they typically are. In Lansing, one other thing noteworthy from the climate perspective was (that) on Friday, we set a new record (for) the all-time warmest temperature in Lansing of 103 degrees (Fahrenheit). That’s the warmest it’s ever been, with over 104 years of data. That’s evidence to how unusual it was. We’re dealing with drought conditions throughout most of southern Michigan, including the East Lansing area. That’s a big negative. It has a major impact on agriculture throughout the region. It’s difficult to keep up with the water needs of the vegetation because of the drought conditions. In terms of economic impact, that might be the most significant or important impact.

What do you attribute the current weather to?
As to why or what’s going on, with the heat wave, it’s an unusual jet stream pattern. (It is) abnormal; it’s lasted for a long period of time … across North America. Basically, this same feature has been there now for a couple of months. We usually see changes more frequently than that. We’ll see a continuation for the next week or two. That’s bad news for everybody, especially farmers though. We can’t attribute (the change in weather) directly to climate change, but it’s important to note this weather pattern is consistent with trends. (The recent weather) increases awareness to the types of weather scenarios projected to the future. We can’t disassociate this weather pattern with climate change, and it is something we need to be aware about.