Sunrise today is at 7:34 am and sunset is at 7:34 pm in West Michigan; we begin our long period of increasing darkness and less daylight. We will also have increasingly cloudy days as is expected for western Michigan during the late fall and winter’s gloom sets in. We will see sunny skies today with highs in the mid-70s, tomorrow the clouds will increase. The weekend forecast features the potential for clouds and a few showers as weakening Hurricane Helene stalls south of Michigan over the Tennessee Valley Region.
Hurricane Helene is now forecast to reach catastrophic Category 4 strength by the time it makes landfall in Florida on today, the National Hurricane Center says, with storm surge potentially climbing to 20 feet along some parts of the coast.
Average First Frost Date
No freezing temperatures are in the 7-day forecast but you may wonder when we typically see our first fall freeze. Here is a map from our friends at the Midwest Regional Climate Center which shows when sections of the state normally see that first 32-degree or colder night.
Tuesday Rainfall
It was a wet Tuesday, especially for Muskegon and Oceana counties where some saw well over 5 inches of rain! For additional rainfall reports check out https://maps.cocorahs.org/
Weather History
1951: A tornado killed one person and injured three others near Bitely in Newaygo County. The tornado destroyed a tavern, carrying steel beams from the roof about 70 yards.
1965: Wet snow mixes in with rain across parts of western Michigan for a very early taste of winter.
1998: The temperature hits a record high of 89 degrees at both Grand Rapids and Lansing. The warm weather fuels a severe weather outbreak across the region as a cold front arrives during the late afternoon. A severe thunderstorm produced softball-sized hail in Clare County which smashed skylights, dented automobiles, and damaged roofs and antennas. Damage was estimated at up to half a million dollars.
On September 26, 2017, the temperature reached 93 degrees in Detroit, Flint, and Saginaw all of which are record highs for the date. In Flint and Saginaw, it was the 6th consecutive day of record-setting temperatures in the 90s and the latest such streak (6 days) of 90-degree days on record for both sites. The 26th is also the latest date in the calendar year that Flint has ever reached or exceeded 90 degrees.
NWS Forecast
Forecast Discussion
- Dry through Friday High pressure holds over the region through Friday leading to quiet weather. Patchy fog is the primary concern early this morning with sites such as Holland reporting visibilities down to 1/4 mile. Other sites like Ludington are at 3/4 mile, and Kalamazoo to 2 miles. Fog should stay limited to mainly west of US-131. Once fog dissipates shortly after sunrise, expect a mostly sunny day with highs in the mid 70s. - Chances for rain showers this weekend No significant changes from last night`s thinking with regard to the system off to our south this weekend. Helene will make a move into the Ohio Valley and get caught up with the upper low that will already be there. Moisture and even wind will be on the increase across our area in the Friday night through Sunday time frame. We have chance pops in the forecast for the small chances for rain, mainly near and south of I-96. QPF amounts look low on the order of a quarter of an inch or less over the multiple forecast periods that the Ohio Valley system will affect us. Sunday night through Monday night ridging will be in place over the Great Lakes and believe our model blends are overdone in showing light precipitation in the area. A front will sweep through on Tuesday, but chances for showers with this front look limited due to a lack of deep moisture. - Warmer than normal through Tuesday then cooler Warmer than normal temperatures are expected from Saturday through Monday as highs should be in the 70s. Normal highs are in the middle 60s. Much colder air filters in behind the cold front on Tuesday with 850mb temperatures dipping into the +2 to +4 C range Tuesday night. Highs will be in the 60s post front on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It’s been an amazing warm September. Summer just won’t stop!
Helene is a beast. Some models are showing one or two additional tropical systems hitting the FL panhandle in the coming weeks.
The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 76/55 there was 0.02” of rainfall. The sun was out 47% of the time. The highest wind gust of 23 MPH was out of the W. For today the average H/L is now down to 70/49 the record high of 92 was set in 2017 the coldest high of 50 was set in 1942,1928 and 1912. The record low of 30 was set in 1947 the warmest low of 68 was set in 1920. The most rainfall of 2.27” fell in 1915.
Slim