“I’m very frustrated with the weather, because I have four days off in a row and I’ve been wanting to go camping and every time that I’m working, it’s lovely, it’s beautiful, and then on my days off it’s cold or it’s raining," interdisciplinary studies in social science senior Amanda Fleming said.

Other students have had their plans ruined as well. Communication senior Anthony Johnson was going to go swimming last weekend, but he laments it was too cold. The weather was also a factor in English senior Megan Ebury’s plans to go up north being cancelled.

“It’s been kind of upsetting, I was hoping summer weather was here to stay and then Michigan switched it up on us,” Ebury said.

Michigan’s constantly changing weather is nothing new, but what exactly causes it?

The physical cause of the contrasting weather is the jet-stream pattern, climatologist and associate professor of geography Jeff Andresen said. He added that the jet-stream is a phenomenon which predominantly affects the middle latitudes between the Equator and the North Pole.

“It’s a little difficult to get adjusted to because we never stay in one place for very long, but it is typical this time of year,” Andresen said. 

But he adds Michigan isn’t the only place experiencing such weather. Andresen said when the Midwest has weather extremes, so do other places, such as the recent flooding in the plains after a period of drought. 

Besides the jet-stream, hourly Michigan weather is affected by clouds. Andresen said the presence of clouds makes the daytime cooler and the nighttime warmer, so cloud watching may be a good way to predict weather throughout the day. 

Andresen said Michigan’s weather depends on the vagaries of the jet-stream, depending on if it brings air masses from Canada or from the tropics.

“It is the single most important factor of our day-to-day weather,” Andresen said.

Lately the jet-streams decisions have made students upset and they have said it stops them from enjoying the simplicity of just being outside in the summer, as well as undermining plans of sun-bathing and swimming.

“It sucks... [to] keep going between fall weather and summer weather,” Johnson said.

Ebury said she prefers sunshine and clear skies and Fleming said her ideal weather is 72 degrees exactly. As the jet-stream continues to decide our fate, Ebury just hopes the warm weather will be here to stay for the rest of the summer.