Yesterday was a warm 87° in Otsego. We had a tenth of an inch of rainfall overnight with a low of 60° at midnight.
There is a chance of showers today, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 p.m. It will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. The east southeast wind will be around 7 mph. The chance of precipitation is 40%.
Thursday SPC Outlook
Weather History
1930: Severe thunderstorms produced tornado and downburst damage across eastern Clinton County. Over 30 farms had wind damage and two dozen barns were destroyed. A tornado struck four miles south of St. Johns.
1980: Kalamazoo was hit by a tornado that killed five people and injured 79 others. Fifty million dollars in damage was done as the tornado damaged or destroyed nearly 300 homes and over 150 businesses.
May 13, 2018, marked the end of a period of wet conditions across the area, with the axis of heaviest rain stretching across the I-696 corridor. Locations saw anywhere between 1.5 to 3.5 inches of rainfall between May 11 and 13, and several roads were closed in Oakland and Wayne Counties due to localized flooding.
On May 13, 1912, Detroit reported a record for the latest snow accumulating an inch or more. The snow was measured at 1.5 inches.
Forecast Discussion
Upper low will bring scattered showers and a few thunderstorms today through Thursday. Typical of an upper low, the showers will be diurnally enhanced in the afternoon to early evening. Conditions still look favorable for organized convection Thursday evening as an upper trough moves east. Shear profiles show some potential for strong to severe storms and possible rotating updrafts. The storms will be along a cold/occluded front that should clear Lower Michigan by Friday morning. Winds gusting over 30 mph can be expected to continue through Saturday as the sfc low moves through the upper Great Lakes keeping a tight pressure gradient across Lower Michigan.
May 13 almanac summery. The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 83/46 there was a trace of rainfall. The highest wind gust was 25 MPH out of the SE. There were no Heating or Cooling Degree Days (note from now on I will use HDD’s and CDD’s for this) For today the average H/L is 69/48 the record high of 86 was in 1982, 1991 and 2022 the coldest high of 47 was in 1910 the record low of 27 was in 1946 and the warmest low of 64 was in 1896 the most rainfall of 1.92” was in 1964. The overnight low here in my yard was 64 and the 7:30 there is light rain falling and 64.
There is a chance of more showers today and tonight it will be warm with highs expected in the upper 70’s and lows around 60.
Slim