<p>
</p>
<p>If I’m not mistaken, the official Detroit weather readings are taken at Detroit Metro Airport, which is about 20 minutes from Ann Arbor. As a consequence, I think the differences will be trivial. And if you look at Michigan cities from west to east, it’s pretty clear that most of the precipitation gets wrung out in the western part of the state. Muskegon gets 96 inches of snowfall; Grand Rapids 73 inches; Lansing 49, Flint 45, and Detroit (Romulus) 41. Ann Arbor’s going to be closest to the Detroit (Romulus) figure, i.e., more like Boston. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>FWIW, annual snowfall in Boston and Detroit (proxy for Ann Arbor) is almost identical, Boston 42.2 inches, Detroit 41.1 inches. Average temperature is 4-5 degrees warmer in Boston from November through February but similar in September-October and again in March, but Detroit slightly warmer in April and May. The biggest climate difference is that Boston gets 12 inches more annual precipitation, with almost all of the difference coming October through March. How can that be, if snowfall is more or less the same? Easy. Boston is much more prone to cold and often freezing rain in the late fall, winter, and early spring. That certainly was my experience living in both places for several years. To my mind, that’s a much more uncomfortable and unpleasant winter climate than slightly dryer and slightly cooler. Ann Arbor gets very little winter rain. The cold dampness cuts right through you in Boston. Yuck!</p>