First snow

Yes, it was only Oct 12, but in Northern Michigan you never know when the first snow of the season will fall. Our first snowfall was not nearly as early or as voluminous as those in the western mountains. We should remember, this is the temperate great lakes region. Those large bodies of water both protect us from weather extremes and cause lake effect snows.
I drove to Gaylord last night for class and as I drove the rain changed over to slush falling from the sky. When I dismissed class at nearly 10pm it was snowing. The snow was sticking to cars and trees, but was melting on the ground. Not a snow that will last this time. When I lived in Gaylord for a few years I did notice that typically once the snow began it would snow every day all winter long. Sometimes this would just be a sparkling in the air on an early morning in mid-winter and at other times it would be storms dropping a foot or more of the white stuff.
For those of you in the region waiting for a winter vacation this early snow is a good sign. Start waxing your skis and checking the bindings on your snowshoes, winter is close at hand.