One would think we were in the Amazon rainforest yesterday, and today will be likewise. We are currently set at 80° at 5:30 am with a dewpoint of 79°. We reached 90° yesterday with dewpoints in the 70s so all and all a miserable day to be outside. We continue to have air quality alerts and heat advisories in place for SW Michigan and the SPC has included most of southern Michigan in the slight (level two) risk for severe storms today.
Air Quality Alert
The Action Day is in effect for the following Michigan counties…
Allegan, Kent, Muskegon, Ottawa, and Van Buren
People and businesses are urged to avoid activities that lead
to ozone formation. These activities include refueling vehicles
or topping off when refueling, using gasoline-powered lawn
equipment, and using charcoal lighter fluid. Positive activities
include carpooling, biking to work, delaying or combining
errands, and using water-based paints.
It is recommended that active children adults, and persons
with respiratory diseases such as asthma, limit prolonged
outdoor exertion.
Heat Advisory
…HEAT ADVISORY IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 P.M. EDT THIS EVENING…
* WHAT…Heat index values up to 104 are expected.
* WHERE…Van Buren, Kalamazoo, and Calhoun counties.
* WHEN…Until 9 PM EDT this evening.
Heat Advisory
…HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT THIS EVENING…
* WHAT…Heat index values up to 102.
* WHERE…Eaton and Ingham counties.
* WHEN…Until 9 PM EDT this evening.
* IMPACTS…Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat
illnesses to occur.
SPC Outlook
Grand Rapids Forecast
8 24 grrU.S.A and Global Events for August 24th:
79: Stratovolcano, Mount Vesuvius erupted on this day, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Click HERE for more information from the History Channel.
1456: Machiavelli wrote, “On the 24th of August, about an hour before day-break there arose from the Adriatic near Ancona, a whirlwind, which crossing Italy from east to west, again reached the sea near Pisa, accompanied by thick clouds, and the most intense and impenetrable darkness.” Click HERE to read this book.
1992: Hurricane Andrew made landfall in southern Florida at 4:30 AM on this day. The high winds caused catastrophic damage in Florida, with Miami-Dade County cities of Florida City, Homestead, and Cutler Ridge receiving the brunt of the storm. About 63,000 homes were destroyed, and over 101,000 others were damaged. This storm left roughly 175,000 people homeless. As many as 1.4 million people were left without electricity at the height of the storm. In the Everglades, 70,000 acres (280 km2) of trees were knocked down. Additionally, rainfall in Florida was substantial, peaking at 13.98 in (355 mm) in western Miami-Dade County. About $25 billion in damage and 44 fatalities were reported in Florida. Click HERE for more information from the National Hurricane Center.
The last radar image was taken from NHC before the WSR-57 radar was blown off the roof, 0835 UTC on August 24, 1992.
Forecast Discussion
.SHORT TERM...(Today through Friday) Based on the current apparent temperature forecast for this afternoon, we have added Ingham and Eaton Counties to the heat advisory and let the northeast counties in the advisory go, although they will be close to criteria. Difficult forecast for temperatures this afternoon because of uncertainty with convection chances. The slight risk for severe storms appears justified given the downdraft potential and current severe weather happening downstream. Or is that upstream? Some models show convection building westward along the instability gradient roughly aligned with I-96. This has not happened as of 0730Z but may yet develop this afternoon as the convergence along the surface boundary combines with diurnal increase in instability. The forecast POPs roughly follow the GFS and ECMWF 00Z deterministic runs that show precip blossoming along the cold front this afternoon. Given high moisture content of the atmosphere, the heavy rain rates currently occurring across SE Lower Michigan could be repeated this afternoon and evening as the front sinks slowly south, so any training of storms could produce at least minor flooding. There will be some stratus trapped under a low level post frontal inversion on Friday that may take a while to mix out if the NAM and GFS forecast soundings verify. .LONG TERM...(Friday night through Wednesday) Pretty decent weekend shaping up as upper high/heat dome continues to retreat to the southwest and advancing sfc high and associated low level north/northeast flow ushers in a cooler/drier air mass Friday night into Saturday. There is a risk for a period of low clouds and light showers with the arrival of the cooler air, especially near/north of I-96 on Saturday morning. The sfc high will be overhead on Sunday and plenty of sunshine is expected along with pleasant temps/low humidity. Chilly nights are in store both Saturday and Sunday night with lows in the 40s and 50s. The pattern Monday through Wednesday of next week features longwave troughing aloft with occasional shortwaves and sfc cold fronts/troughs swinging through the northwest flow. This supports low chance pops for showers at times (but generally only lighter QPF amounts) and progressively cooler conditions each day. Coolest day of next week looks to be Wednesday with highs only near 70 degrees.
Multiple cars flipped on I-96. Roof collapse at a nursing home in Williamston.
World class storm…glad I was able to experience it without major damage. Will have a bit of chainsaw work over the weekend. Power went off/on, three times within two minutes of storm arrival.
Sirens going off here in anticipation of the 80 mph winds
Take care.
Slim
Storm are legit…batten down the hatches.
Looks like there was a touchdown just east of us in Williamston. Significant damage reported.
YIKES! 16 PM EDT Thu Aug 24 2023 …A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 945 PM EDT FOR INGHAM COUNTY… At 914 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 6 miles west of Williamston, or 6 miles north of Mason, moving east at 25 mph. THIS IS A DESTRUCTIVE STORM FOR INGHAM COUNTY. Storms are occurring across Ingham County with additional strong winds moving in from Eaton County. HAZARD…80 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE…Radar indicated. IMPACT…Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be heavily damaged. Expect considerable damage to… Read more »
Still no power, house is getting very muggy
The storm is over here. A lot of lightning, thunder and some wind. A total of 0.40″ of rain here. A lot of power outages to the east of my house. Temperature has dropped down to 73 and the dew point is down to 69.
Slim
I have major damage at my house. All I’ll report for now.
Glad you are OK keep us updated.
Slim
Storm reports from SPC:
0018 UNK 2 NNW Comstock Park Kent MI 4307 8569 Trees across M37 at 7 Mile. Possible tornado. Possible damage to structures. Time estimated from radar. (GRR)
0021 UNK 2 WNW Belmont Kent MI 4308 8565 Tree on house. Possible tornado. Radar showed debris signature in this area. (GRR)
Major winds just moved through. No power. Got an alert on my phone for 80mph destructive storm
Local TV met said ping pong sized hail reported in Ionia County. Didn’t specify exactly where.
Constant lightning here and an absolute deluge falling from the sky.
And a severe thunderstorm warning just issued for this cell overhead.
Now getting small hail and big winds. Trees are bent over. WOW!
I saw the rotation a couple minutes before the warning was issued on radar. A debris ball formed too! My Godmother lives where the debris ball was, we lost power here
WT_
Debris on radar north of GR
BULLETIN – EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED Tornado Warning National Weather Service Grand Rapids MI 822 PM EDT Thu Aug 24 2023 The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has issued a * Tornado Warning for… Central Kent County in southwestern Michigan… * Until 845 PM EDT. * At 821 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Grand Rapids, moving southeast at 40 mph. HAZARD…Tornado and quarter size hail. SOURCE…Radar indicated rotation. IMPACT…Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will… Read more »
Rotation on radar near Alpine and 6 mile. NW GR
Ok Slim…here’s your last, best shot for an evening storm.
The radar has lit up like a Christmas tree in the past 30 minutes. New MD:
https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md2041.html
Not weather related, but maybe a good storm will knock them down. We are in the middle of a Dragon Fly Swarm. New to me…anyone else?. Thousands of them flying in big circles , front yard and back. Not bothering people though…bizarre.
We have an abundance of frogs, crickets and cicadas.
I had the same experience in my back yard. I’m in Leslie, mi. I had to take a video of it.
Severe thunderstorm watch MICHIGAN COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE ALLEGAN BARRY BAY BERRIEN BRANCH CALHOUN CASS CLARE CLINTON EATON GENESEE GRATIOT HILLSDALE HURON INGHAM IONIA ISABELLA JACKSON KALAMAZOO KENT LAPEER LENAWEE LIVINGSTON MACOMB MECOSTA MIDLAND MONROE MONTCALM MUSKEGON NEWAYGO OAKLAND OCEANA OSCEOLA OTTAWA SAGINAW SANILAC SHIAWASSEE ST. CLAIR ST. JOSEPH TUSCOLA VAN BUREN WASHTENAW WAYNE
To the North, and to the South…
It is so hot out even my dog doesn’t like it. I don’t blame her. I am looking forward to cooler temps moving in. 🙂
Ours don’t either…
We are under a severe thunderstorm watch from 7PM to 1AM. It includes all of us.
Note there are now storms to the north of GR and storms to the SW of GR. At this time there are no storms that are heading toward Grand Rapids.
Slim
Who would of thought?
Anyone know what the highest dew point was recorded in GR??INDY
Unfortunately dew points are not something that the NWS keeps records of. That said the highest I can find was on July 5th 1995 when at 5PM the air temperature was 97 and the dew point was 81 for a heat index of 120. The highest today so far has been a dew point of 80 at the air port. Here in MBY I have a dew point at this time of 83 but that is not official.
Slim
Closing in on a potential record here:
Note that dew point of 84.8 could be the highest ever recorded in the state of Michigan.
Slim
we are in an enclosed valley just west of Otsego. We tend to hold the heat and moisture down here.
Mt. Clemens had a dew point of 84 the last week of July in 2021 (I wrote that down for future reference)… I’d imagine it’s a near record though, I can’t imagine an upper 80 dew point in MI
Boy, I can’t imagine the air feeling worse than this. Dew points into the 80’s!?? This is beyond hot! 🥵
Here we go. MD in effect. 95% of watch being issued.
https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md2039.html
stand by for some watches coming into play soon
Air is hot and thick – currently at the center:
That’s crazy!
Horrendous weather!
Here in MBY the sun is now out and I have a air temperature of 93.4 with a dew point of 83.2 The heat index on my station reads 119 using a heat index calculator it comes out to 117.
Slim
Local TV met just said our heat index is at 98, but triple digits not far from here. We’re starting to see the clouds break and some blue sky is visible. His guess is that the storms will reach here around 8 or 9 and exiting SE Michigan by midnight-ish.
Still no rain and still they are predicting storms and heavy rain for GR! Will they get one right or another swing and a miss?
Only a 40% chance for GR. Not sure about Rockford. Heavy rain only if you get under a strong storm. Looks like the best chances will be far to the E and SE of you. The point forecast for GR above (In MWC We Trust), it shows a little over 1/2 inch of rain tonight. This Afternoon: Mostly cloudy and hot, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 95. West southwest wind around 14 mph. Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight, then a slight chance of showers between midnight and 1am. Some storms… Read more »
1/2 of rain tonight and supposedly 3/4 of an inch yesterday! So far ZERO and I will believe it when I see it! Still nothing on the radar! Incredible!
We don’t need anymore rain here. I’m having to mow every two days for the past week and a half.
Bring on the rain, otherwise I will need to start watering the lawn again!
That’s surprising. GR is way above average for rainfall over the past six weeks.
Partial sunshine – temperature has risen to 87 with a dewpoint of 82 – yikes!
It is still mostly cloudy here the temperature is now up to 86 with a dew point of 81.
Slim
The clearing line is very close but it is still cloudy with fog here in MBY I have a temperature of 84 with a dew point of 79. Holland has 89 with clear skies and a dew point of 78.Muskegon has a temp of 85 with a dew point of 76. Not sure if the clearing will get here or not. At the current time radar is clear with no storms to be found yet. Looks like the enhanced area is just to the east of Grand Rapids. Here is a site for visible satellite.
https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/wisc/
Slim
The temp has increased by 10 degrees here in the past two hours. Still waiting to see how much sun we get….
Forecast discussion update from NWS GR: SHORT TERM…(This evening through Friday night) Issued at 206 PM EDT Thu Aug 24 2023 – Risk for Severe Weather This Afternoon into Early Tonight The region has been placed in an enhanced risk for severe weather. An unusual set of parameters were coming together here in Lower Michigan. From SPCs meso page, strong instability was building over the area with MUCAPE values topping 2000 J/kg, which are forecast to increase over the next few hours to 5000 J/kg. Also a mid level jet max in MN and western WI shifts into the CWA… Read more »
Not sure why some of the text showed up red. I merely copied and pasted.
I’ve had the same issue myself, it has something to do with the coding of the text.
At least it’s not just me. 🙂
Updated SPC Outlook:
Here’s a link for the text. Looks like we’re on the edge of something or nothing. The Detroit area appears to be in the bullseye.
https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html
Looks like the SPC has moved the severe weather potential farther east. The sun is just starting to peek through the clouds here. Wait and see, I guess.
FYI from NWS Grand Rapids:
Our Grand Rapids NOAA Weather Radio transmitter is unexpectedly down. Surrounding transmitters can be used for weather information. Info: https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&product=PNS&issuedby=GRR. With the potential for severe weather this afternoon and evening have multiple ways to get warnings.
Getting a light mist here at this time. Here in MBY the temperature is 79 with a Dew Point of 78 there is also some fog with that mist. The last time I seen fog with it this warm was down in Florida. It was warmer there (85) and fogger I do not know what the dew point was at that time.
Slim
Some drizzle here at the station, here is the latest Discussion: .UPDATE… Issued at 1016 AM EDT Thu Aug 24 2023 We are experiencing a very tropical-like westward push of rain and drizzle into much of southwest Lower MI associated with an MCS outflow boundary. It will be interesting to see how this boundary might settle and ripen during the course of the day to possibly serve as a focus for afternoon convection, especially when paired with the expected cold front later today. There is a suggestion of a boundary stretching from Ludington to Saginaw Bay that could perhaps later… Read more »
Just another 90+ degree day yesterday. Do we get another today?
New drought update- it’s officially over! All of west Michigan is out of drought and abnormally dry
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?MI
That was some crazy heat yesterday! It’s been a while since I’ve experienced a heat index over 110 and I hope it will be a long while before I feel it again. I did feel sorry for the guys laying black top yesterday on Main Street in Zeeland, can’t even imagine what that heat felt like.
I don’t know if any of you saw our feels like yesterday around dinner time was hotter than south Florida by 3 degrees. It was 92 here and 95 there with feel like here 109 and there’s was 106. My friend over by Detroit is only had a of 80 and feel like 81 at the same time.
I remember when the precip of Andrew made its way up here. I was in high school and we had a student teacher named Andrew. Lol.
Stay hydrated today!!!
I was in the Army in Oklahoma during Andrew. I do remember watching the Weather Channel for hours on end while off duty. That was a beast of a storm.
The NWS is at again! After a complete 100% miss for GR yesterday and they again say heavy rain and .75 inches of rain later today? I will believe it when I see it! Horrendous forecasting, there was never any rain on the radar anywhere near GR all day and night!
You do realize that the point forecast is created by a computer and not a human, right? From a human at NWS GR for today and tonight: Today – Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Heat index values as high as 97. Southwest wind 5 to 8 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Tonight – A chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight, then a chance of showers between midnight and 3am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph, with gusts as high… Read more »
You do realize that the NWS has been predicting heavy rain for GR and the the surrounding area for 2 straight days and nata! You do realize we have seen NO RAIN! Give me a break!
You do realize the GR NWS has some of the most experienced mets in the area and these forecasts are horribly inaccurate!
While we stayed dry here overnight, there are flash flood warnings just to our east all the way to Detroit and Toledo. We woke to thunder about 1:30. The lightning was continuous to our east – like a 100 flashes per minute. It was pretty incredible.
There has not been a big time nighttime thunderstorm here in west Michigan in a long, long time. I really miss that. Will we see one this year yet?? I am not sure.
Slim
According to the NWS, 2-6 inches of rain fell this morning over the flood warned area. That’s a lot of water in a very short period of time.
It was a very hot and humid day yesterday. The official H/L was 91/66 the highest dew point was 79. Here in MBY I had a high of 95 with the highest dew point of 82. At GRR there was a reported trace of rain fall and 60% of possible sunshine. There were 0 HDD’s and 14 CDD’s The highest wind gust was 30 MPH out of the W. For today the average H/L is 80/61 the record high of 98 was set in 1947 and 1948. The record low of 40 was set in 1942 and 1946. The record… Read more »
Around the state of Michigan yesterday the highest official reading at a major location was 94 at Benton Harbor, they with Muskegon had warmest minimum of 72. The coldest low was 58 at Marquette and Sault Ste Marie. The coolest high was 63 at Sault Ste Marie. The most rain fell at Detroit City airport with 0.79” Today looks to be warm but cooler than yesterday. And once again there is a mention of rain but we have had very little here in west Michigan. The week ahead looks to have a major cool down with highs dropping from maybe… Read more »