EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



489 



THE CLIMATE OF THE UPPER PENINSULA* 



GENERAL STATEMENT. 



Considerable differences in elevation and the fact that the territory 

 is nearly surrounded by great bodies of water, give the Upper Peninsula 

 a variable climate. On the elevated sections in the interior, which are 

 some distance from the influence of the lakes, the temperature is ex- 

 tremely low in the winter and the summers are cool. Along the lake- 

 shore, however, the temperature is moderate even in mid-winter. In 

 the latter section, spring frosts are uncommon after May 15 and fall 

 frosts do not usually occur until after October first. The growing sea- 

 son, therefore, in these favored sections is as long as that in central- 

 southern Michigan. 



(200- /feoo 



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Elevation map of the Upper Peninsula. 



In practically all parts of the Upper Peninsula the rainfall is suffi- 

 cient for growing crops. In fact the rain which comes during the grow- 

 ing season is somewhat heavier than in the Lower Peninsula. One 

 marked characteristic of a narrow strip along the shore of Lake Superior 

 is the heavy snowfall in that section. No place in the United States 

 has more snow than this region. 



Tornadoes are practically unknown to the Upper Peninsula, although 

 thunderstorms sometimes develop great energy. The amount of damage 

 on the whole is not extensive. Summer seasons are agreeable and sought 

 by tourists in search of health and pleasure. 



The accompanying charts show graphically the outstanding features 



♦'By D. A. Seeley, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Weather Bureau, Lansing, Michigan. 



