Rain and Storms

Once again I dig into the archives of the NWS to bring you our weekly weather history for SW Michigan.

May 27

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.

May 28

1955: A series of tornadoes put down an intermittent damage path more than 60 miles long from near Schoolcraft in Kalamazoo County to east of Grand Ledge in Eaton County. One person was injured northwest of Charlotte as a barn was destroyed. Two homes were unroofed and total damage was estimated at 150,000 dollars.

1991: A tornado damaged homes and destroyed outbuildings near Hart in Oceana County.

May 29

1895: The second heat wave of the month gets underway with record highs of 94 degrees at Grand Rapids and Lansing.

1947: Muskegon records its latest snow on record as some wet snowflakes mix in with a cold rain. The high temperature for the day is only 47 degrees after a low of 35.

May 30

1972: A tornado damaged a building under construction five miles west of Jackson.

1989: A tornado struck Van Buren County, moving from east of South Haven to south of Pearl. Several grain elevators were destroyed and windows were blown out of buildings.

May 31

1943: A tornado outbreak hit southern Lower Michigan. Ten people were injured as homes were swept away by a powerful tornado that moved southeast of Morrice in Shiawassee County. A tornado killed livestock and destroyed a barn near Morley in Mecosta County. A home near Coopersville in Ottawa County was unroofed by a tornado and three people were injured. Another tornado struck near Bath in Clinton County destroying one barn.

1954: A tornado struck north of Bangor in Van Buren County. Forty barns were damaged or destroyed and one home was unroofed. Damage totaled about half a million dollars.

1998: A squall line of severe thunderstorms moves across Lower Michigan in the early morning with wind gusts between 90 and 120 mph. Thousands of trees are knocked down and hundreds of homes and businesses suffer damage. Sections of the state are declared a major disaster area and thousands are without power, some for several days.

June 1

1934: Blistering heat begins the month in one of the Dust Bowl summers of the 1930s. The mercury soared to 102 degrees at Grand Rapids and 97 degrees at Lansing. The 102 degree reading at Grand Rapids is tied for the highest June temperature with June 20, 1953.

1943: A violent tornado inured ten people as it moved from Ingham to Shiawassee County and left a path of destruction 20 miles long. Over 250 farm buildings were damaged or destroyed, including 39 homes and 52 barns. Another tornado hit between Lansing and Bath, causing damage to several farms.

1998: West Michigan was cleaning up from the tremendous destruction caused by the squall line of the day before. Meanwhile on Lake Michigan, water levels continued to rise and fall several feet at some locations through the day as seiches generated by the extreme winds of the squall line continued more than 24 hours after its passage.

June 2

1910: It was a cold day in June as temperatures in the upper 40s in the afternoon were more typical of late March. The high of 47 at Grand Rapids and Muskegon are the coldest high temperatures on record for any day in June. At Lansing the high was 49 degrees, second only to the 46 degree high on the previous day for being the coldest June day.

1925: Two people were injured as a tornado moved across central Ionia County. A woman was carried 300 feet and left paralyzed and a man was injured in a barn that collapsed.

1950: Thunderstorms dropped one to three inches of rain across the region. Nearly an inch of rain fell in one hour in Grand Rapids, flooding streets and basements. Lansing had a storm total of 2.30 inches, which was a record for the day.

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We had a good burst of rain yesterday afternoon through Plainwell, Otsego then on towards Allegan and to the north west…  We picked up a quick .30 of an inch of much needed rain in Otsego.  The temperature dropped from 96 to 76 degrees in just a few minutes.

For today we begin to see the effects of Alberto as he moves into Michigan.  Tropical moisture will be flowing into the region as the day goes by. This will result in warm and humid weather with increasing storms as we go through the afternoon and into the evening. A few severe thunderstorms are possible. Some of the rain will be heavy leading to possible flooding in poor drainage locations and areas that typically flood during heavy rain.

A marginal risk for severe thunderstorms exists this afternoon into this evening. Damaging winds are the primary hazard. An increased risk for a brief tornado or two could develop.

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Here is a snapshot of Alberto’s current location as of 7:30am moving northward along the Indiana/Illinois border.