In the past, I have mentioned my father-in-law Merle Holmes who passed away 14 years ago at the age of 91. He was part of the 126th Infantry and 32nd Red Arrow Division and was involved in campaigns in Papua, New Guinea, the Southern Philippines, and the Owen Stanley Mountain Conflict and was a member of the Ghost Mountain Boys whose journey was written about in the book by the same name by James Campbell.
Merle spoke often to me about the many battles he fought leaving out the horror of the campaigns written about in the book. I consider him one of the greatest men in my life and miss him dearly. Rest in peace, Merle.
To the many men and women who have lost their lives in battle or have survived to tell their stories we salute you. Over 1.3 Million Americans have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.
NWS Forecast
Yesterday we received .33 of an inch of rain in the afternoon. We are now up to 3.68 inches for the month. The high was 77° and the low 48°.
Below normal temperatures are expected through midweek along with occasional showers and perhaps a thunderstorm. Brisk westerly winds will create hazardous swim conditions at West Michigan beaches today.
Weather History
1907: Wet snowflakes fall at Grand Rapids and Muskegon. It is the latest snow on record at Grand Rapids.
1912: A tornado destroys barns and kills livestock near East Leroy in Calhoun County.
1960: Several farm buildings were damaged or destroyed by a tornado four miles east of Ionia.
1973: A tornado destroyed a barn and silo near Saranac in Ionia County. Another tornado did minor damage near Gun Lake in Barry County.
On May 27, 2012, Numerous trees were downed and the awning was torn off of an I-75 rest stop located near Exit 160 as thunderstorm winds of up to 75 mph swept across parts of Saginaw and Bay counties.
On May 27, 1987, a two-day streak of temperatures at 90 degrees occurred on the 27th and 28th in Flint. Also on this date in 1994, there was a two-day streak of record lows on the 27th at 31 degrees and the 28th at 36 degrees.
1771: In Virginia, a wall of water came roaring down the James River Valley following ten to twelve days of intense rain. As water swept through Richmond, buildings, boats, animals, and vegetation were lost. About one hundred fifty people were killed as the River reached a flood stage of forty-five feet above normal. A monument to the flood was inscribed by Ryland Randolph, of Curles, in 1771-72: ” … all the great rivers of this country were swept by inundations never before experienced which changed the face of nature and left traces of violence that will remain for ages.”
1896: A massive tornado struck Saint Louis, Missouri killing 306 persons and causing thirteen million dollars in damage. The tornado’s path was short but cut across a densely populated area. It touched down six miles west of Eads Bridge in Saint Louis and widened to a mile as it crossed into East Saint Louis. The tornado was the most destructive of record in the U.S. at that time. It pierced a five-eighths-inch thick iron sheet with a two-by-four-inch pine plank. A brilliant display of lightning accompanied the storm.
1997: An F5 tornado killed 27 people in Jarrell, Texas. Although tornado warnings were issued 30 minutes in advance and local sirens were sounded, there were few places to go for safety. Most homes were on slabs, with no basements. Houses were swept clean off their foundations, with little debris left behind. Total damage was $20 million. The same thunderstorm complex produced a wind gust to 122 mph at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio. Click HERE for a video of the tornado.
Forecast Discussion
- Lingering showers and storms early this morning As the upper level low moves through northern Lower Michigan lingering showers and storms will move through central Michigan along the frontal boundary. The best instability and shear remains along the far southern tier of Michigan counties. There is a region through Mid Michigan of stronger helicity that is allowing for light showers that will continue this morning. - Shower chances and cool air linger into midweek Though the upper level low will open up with predominately zonal flow the mid to low levels will be positively tilted allowing for a strong gradient across Lake Michigan. That gradient will cause downsloping flow which coupled with cold air advection will bring gusty winds through the day. Expect gusty winds of 20 to 30 mph today. Latest CAMS soundings show further evidence of moist low to mid levels. That should correlate to mostly cloudy skies through the daytime. While some breaks in the clouds aren`t out of the question, this Memorial day should be cloudy and windy. While the best moisture is through northern lower peninsula there is enough PWATs that coupled with NW flow across the lake to allow for light showers and perhaps some storms this afternoon into early evening, especially through far southwest Michigan near the lakeshore. Models continue to show a shortwave diving southeast through the base of the longwave trough overhead Tuesday into Tuesday night. This brings more showers across the area then departs early Wednesday. However lingering sfc troughiness and cold air aloft could result in a few widely scattered diurnally driven showers redeveloping Wednesday afternoon and evening, especially over srn sections. - Dry Thursday and Friday Then a couple sunny/pleasant days are in store for Thursday and Friday as the center of a cool/dry Canadian sfc high passes overhead. Wednesday night and Thursday night will be fairly chilly nights and can`t even rule out some patchy frost across far nrn sections. - Low risk for rain returns next weekend; warmer Fcst confidence currently low regarding rain chances next weekend as model solutions diverge. The ECMWF is more progressive and is sending showers/storms back into the picture by Saturday whereas the GFS is holding on to ridging aloft and keeping things dry through late Sunday. At this point will have low end 20-30 pct pops next weekend with temps returning to slightly above normal values.
Just closed all our windows in the house crazy 🤪..INDY
Incredible cold and lows in 30’s this week! Wow!
Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day. Take the time to remember what the day is really for and why you really have a 3 day weekend. Thank you to all who have served you are true hero’s!
This is going to be a very cool Memorial Day temperature wise. Think news 8 said coolest since 2013.
Great beach day anybody want to join me 😆 INDY
Great day for a swim 😆 Think I saw on News 8 this is the coolest Memorial Day since 2013!
Have a great one Indy!
I believe it .. I just got back from INDY 500 days in the 80’s now 50’s feels like Fall … thank you I hope you have a good one to my friend…INDY
We have instilled in our kiddos when they were young the importance of thanking our service members. We have been helping replace flags for about 15-16 yrs ..our kiddos were part of it. Our youngest was 1 out helping. We would put a flag and they would say thank you for your service. We were at winter Greenfield Village one year and our youngest was about 3, asked Mommy can I thank him for his service kiddo saw a service member uniform. We walked over and kiddo said thank you for your service. I think he was surprised someone so… Read more »
Today is an important day. I served in the US Army from 90-94. My brother did 20 years. One grandfather was at Omaha Beach on 6/6/44. Other grandfather was a field artillery officer in the Pacific Theater. He served 36 years and retired a full bird colonel. My stepdad was drafted in 68. He passed six years ago and is buried at Fort Custer. We’re going to visit him today and pay our respects to all of the fine Americans there.
Have a nice day, my friends.
Thank you for your service Mark!!
It was my honor. 🫡🇺🇸
Thank you to you Mark for your service and to everyone else who has served. You are real hero’s!
Thanks for your service Mark.
Slim
Thank you Mark! And what a blessing for your family that you had two absolute American Heroes as grandfathers! Both of my wife’s grandfathers served in WWII as well, so I understand how truly great those men are!
The overnight low here in MBY was 58. I recorded 0.43” of rainfall during yesterday’s rainstorm that had some thunder and lightning along with some strong wind gusts, the wind brought down some small tree limbs in my area. At the current time it is 58 and cloudy here.
Slim
The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 75/50 there was 0.43” of rainfall. The sun was out 23% of the time. The peak wind gust was 40 MPH out of the S. Than came in a heavy rainstorm with some thunder and lightning. For today the average H/L is 74/52 the record high of 93 was set in 2018 and the record low of 30 was set in 1961. The most rainfall was 1.12” in 1982 Last year the H/L was 79/43.
Slim