We caught up on some much-needed rain yesterday here at the station. The morning brought around a quarter inch then another inch fell between 7 pm and 9 pm. We ended up with 1.26 inches for the day giving us 1.82 inches for the month.
There will be an isolated shower or two early this morning or patchy drizzle, but precipitation should end fairly quickly this morning. Most areas will see some sun this afternoon. Highs will be in the lower 70s at most locations. Our next chance of rain comes Friday night through Sunday mainly south of I96.
Weather History
1961: Widespread, heavy rain causes some flooding across western Michigan. Record daily rainfall totals occur at Muskegon, Lansing, and Grand Rapids. The 3.52 inches of rain at Grand Rapids is a record total for any day in September.
On September 25, 2018, three tornadoes occurred over northern Monroe and southern Wayne Counties, impacting Frenchtown Township – EF1, South Rockwood/Rockwood – EF0, and Gibraltar – EF1. No injuries were reported, but numerous homes were damaged. The Gibraltar tornado even crossed the Detroit River to impact Grosse Ile.
On September 25, 2007, thunderstorms ended a dry eight-day stretch of well above average temperatures in the upper 70s to upper 80s. Some of the storms were severe with the most damage occurring in Flushing. A downburst produced an estimated 80 mph wind gust which blew in garage doors and down hundreds of trees and large limbs.
Also on September 25, 1941, the remnants of a former Category 3 hurricane passed over Detroit. What was remarkable about the remnants of this storm was the high wind speeds and low pressure that accompanied it. Wind speeds remained steady at 56mph with wind gusts of up to 75mph! Dozens of people were injured by these winds. The pressure dropped to 990mb that day, which is the second lowest pressure reading ever recorded for Detroit during September.
NWS Forecast
Forecast Discussion
- Rain Ends this Morning, Then Dry The surface low that brought active weather yesterday will continue to pass to the northeast early this morning, then surface ridging will fill into Lower Michigan. Upper level subsidence will build into the day and clouds will push out to the east throughout the afternoon. Temperatures peak in the low 70s. - Small chances for rain showers over the weekend The main chance for precipitation will come this weekend in the form of scattered rain showers. An existing upper low in the mid Mississippi Valley will combine with the remnant low of what will become Hurricane Helene. This two features will become one dominant low over the weekend centered in Kentucky and Tennessee. Lower Michigan will be well north of this feature, but moisture will increase across the area in the Friday night through Sunday time frame. There is a distinct difference in moisture depth from north to south, with profiles across Central Lower almost cloud free and fairly deep moisture near I94. So, we expecting showers to mainly affect areas near and south of I96, especially down towards I94. That said, this will certainly not be a washout with only isolated to scattered activity, Friday night through Sunday. Ridging builds in for Monday bringing dry weather again, followed by a cold front that will move through the area on Tuesday. Small chances for rain showers will be possible Tuesday morning as the front quickly moves through. - Above normal temperatures much of the forecast period 850mb temperatures will be in the lower to middle teens C much of the forecast period which will provide above normal temperatures. Highs look to be in the 70s most days. The Tuesday cold front will change the game with 850mb temperatures plunging towards zero C. Highs will quickly move back to normal or even below normal next Tuesday and Wednesday with highs in the lower to middle 60s.
Pretty interesting hurricane season… it’s been really slow with respect to the number of storms. But the ACE is only slightly behind average and will probably catch right back up after Helene. The Big Bend of Florida has been really unlucky in recent years!
Just a hair more on my gauge in the middle of town (Otsego), but only 20% of that in GR where I work. The CoCoRaHS map doesn’t have many reports right now but most are .5″ or less. Looks like the heaviest amounts were very localized. My parched gardens are very happy!
Dave
Snow storm in South Africa!!! Updated 8:50 PM EDT, September 23, 2024 JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Unseasonably late snowstorms battered coastal areas of South Africa over the weekend, killing two people and forcing the closure of some of the country’s major highways. The deaths were attributed to hypothermia after the two people were stuck in vehicles stranded by heavy snowfall on the N3 highway, which is the major route to the coastal city of Durban. One of the victims was a 39-year-old woman stuck in a minibus. The province of KwZulu-Natal and Free State were worst hit by the storms, and… Read more »
My friend lives is this part of South Africa and sent me a photo of one of her work trucks stuck in the snow!!!
Muskegon set a rainfall record yesterday with 4.43” of rainfall. The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 70/51 there was 0.41” of rainfall (here in MBY I only had 0.17”) there was no sunshine. The highest wind gust was 19 MPH out of the E. For today the average H/L is now down to 70/50 the record high of 91 was set in 2017 the coldest high of 46 was set in 2001. The record low of 29 was set in 1947 the warmest low of 70 was set in 1930. The most rainfall of 3.52” fell in 1961.… Read more »
4.43″? That’s wild. We got just enough to dampen the surface of the soil.
Wow. I am jealous. We ended up catching the edge of a passing cloud and got 0.1”. Less than 0.3” for the month.