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Scattered Showers – Weather History

We have had .03 of an inch of rain thus far this morning at 6 am.  Yesterday we had a high of 75° and the low was 61°.  Due to the unstable air over Southwest Michigan today expected scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms. Isolated rainfall amounts could exceed a half-inch. Skies should clear tonight then skies should stay mostly clear into Friday. It will be slightly cooler than normal into Thursday, then expect a slow warming trend into the weekend. Showers should be expected over the weekend.


SW Michigan Weather History

July 10

1895: Record cold temperatures occur on the second consecutive day at Lansing. The low of 39 degrees follows a low of 42 degrees on July 9th.

1897: A ten-day heat wave, one of the most intense on record, peaked with highs near 100 degrees across the region. At Lansing, it was the third straight day with highs of 100 degrees, unprecedented in the record books.

1996: Cool weather prevails with Muskegon setting a record low temperature of 44 degrees.

July 11

1945: Muskegon falls to 40 degrees, setting a record low for the date. This is also the second coldest temperature for the month of July at Muskegon, just a degree warmer than the 39 degrees on July 2, 2001.

1957: Thunderstorms struck West Michigan with heavy rain and high winds. There was widespread flooding of streets, with some road washouts. The 3.19 inches of rain at Lansing made this the wettest July day of the 20th century there. Many trees were blown over by thunderstorm winds and lightning struck a TV antenna in Grand Rapids, burning out the transmission line.

1967: A tornado damaged a trailer, garage and silo about two miles west of Ferry in Oceana County.

July 12

1966: A tornado destroyed a barn at Coopersville in Ottawa County.

1978: Cool weather prevails with low temperatures in the 40s. Muskegon falls to 45 degrees, for a record low for the date.

July 13

1912: A tornado strikes downtown Grand Rapids at 4:10 AM. Several buildings are damaged and nine people are injured.

1936: The Dust Bowl summer of 1936 produces the hottest day on record across the state of Michigan. Grand Rapids hits 108 degrees, its highest temperature ever, with Mio, Michigan setting the state record of 112 degrees. At Grand Rapids, six out of the seven days from July 8th to July 14th were above 100 degrees.

1964: Clouds, rain, and a cool northeast wind holds the high temperatures in the upper 50s to mid-60s across West Michigan. The high of 59 degrees at Grand Rapids is only the second time in over a hundred years of record that the temperature did not reach 60 degrees on a July day.

July 14

1950: Cold air filters into Michigan, setting records lows of 45 degrees at Grand Rapids and 41 degrees at Muskegon.

1974: Several tornadoes struck Lower Michigan during the afternoon, causing some structural damage but no injuries. In Mecosta County, a house and some farm buildings were damaged about four miles east of Sylvester. Apartment buildings were damaged near Plymouth, in Wayne County. Seven houses were destroyed and 50 damaged near Davison in Genesee County.

1995: An intense three-day heat wave claims hundreds of lives across the Midwest, mostly elderly people in the greater Chicago area. The low temperature of 81 degrees at Grand Rapids on this day is the warmest low temperature ever recorded there. Temperatures in the upper 90s in the afternoon combined with high humidity produce heat index readings near 120 degrees, some of the highest ever recorded.

July 15

1863: It was a frosty morning with temperatures falling to the 30s across much of Michigan. The low of 31 degrees is the coldest ever recorded in July at Lansing by a full five degrees.

1961: A heavy downpour hits Grand Rapids, with 0.41 inches of rain falling in 15 minutes.

1985: A tornado touched down in the northeast section of Lansing and damaged 18 buildings as it moved to three miles north of Webberville in Ingham County.

1987: It was the coolest July day on record at Grand Rapids, with a high of only 58 degrees. Clouds and rain kept temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s during the day after morning lows in the mid-40s.


SE Michigan Weather History

July 10

On July 10, 1898, the temperature dropped to 40 degrees in Saginaw. It was the second coldest temperature on record for the month. The coldest is 39 degrees.

July 11

On July 11, 1964, Genesee county experienced 1.75-inch hail and winds up to 58 mph around 5:50 pm.

July 12

On July 12, 1966, Detroit had a record amount of precipitation fall in 24 hours. They received 3.19 inches!

July 13

On July 13, 1936, the temperature soared to 111 degrees in Saginaw, which is all-time record high temperature ever recorded in either Saginaw, Detroit, or Flint! This day also marked the sixth day in a row (July 8-13) of daily record high temperatures in Saginaw!

On July 13, 1995, The “right turn derecho” plowed south-southeast down across East and Southeast Lower Michigan on its way toward Ohio.

July 14

On July 14, 2000, parts of the north and west suburbs of Detroit received golf to tennis ball-size hail with a severe storm that pushed through.

Also on July 14, 1992, Detroit had a high temperature of 83 degrees. This is about the average high temperature for mid-July, but it was the warmest day in Detroit in July of 1992, the second coldest July on record, and part of the “Cold Summer of 1992”.

July 15

On July 15, 2010, severe thunderstorms moved through most of Southeast Michigan. There were 32 severe weather reports including a measured 71 mph wind gust near Davison and wind damage consistent with winds up to 80 mph in Flushing. Most of the reports were wind gusts and associated wind damage, but there were a few isolated large hail reports.

Also on July 15, 1988, would mark the last day of a 23-day dry spell in Southeast Lower Michigan. There was a total of only 0.04 inches of rainfall during those 23 days.

July 16

On July 16, 1980, between the hours of 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM, a powerful derecho swept through Southeast Lower Michigan. Winds were estimated to be up to 100 mph in Washtenaw county and up to 150 mph in Wayne county. Several observers remarked about the horrid dark green color the sky took on as the squall moved overhead. This storm blew out windows in the Renaissance Center. There was only one reported injury, and it was caused by the wind forcing a woman into a revolving door!


Forecast Discussion

--Chance of showers/storms today and again over the weekend--

Latest water vapor loop shows a short wave over Wisconsin rotating
around the upper trough in northern Ontario. This wave will likely
cause a few showers and/or thunderstorms to develop today. Indeed,
radar currently shows scattered showers over the cwa and more
upstream over Wisconsin. As diurnal instability increases
today...SBCAPE is progd around 1k j/kg south of I-96...a few of the
showers could grow into storms. However, severe storms aren`t
expected due to low shear values less than 30 knots. Near to below
normal temperatures are expected through the end of the week with
highs in the lower 80s and lows in the 50s.

A series of short waves will try to flatten the ridge this weekend.
ECMWF ensembles have trended up in qpf with more of the members
showing precipitation.

--Hot/Humid next week--

Models show the ridge axis over the Plains leaning over toward the
western Great Lakes early next week. This would send heights and
correspondingly temperatures rising. Highs around 90 are quite
possible Monday/Tuesday next week. Dewpoints in the mid to upper 60s
will make for a very humid environment.
newest oldest
INDY
INDY

During the hottest part of the year and we are enjoying temps in the mid 70’s need I say more… INDY

Barry in Zeeland
Barry in Zeeland

Todays high temp was 82, almost exactly normal.

Mookie
Mookie

With all the whining about the weather, we really do have it made in Southern Lower Michigan. Best weather in the country from May to mid October. Beautiful springs and falls. And relatively short and milder winters compared to a lot of other midwest regions.

Nathan (Forest Hills)
Nathan (Forest Hills)

I 100% agree May-October is some of the best in the country, but November-April is some of the worst in the country with all of the clouds and sloppy precip. I really consider us to have 2 main seasons- the warm and cold halves of the year. Spring and fall have seemed awfully short in recent years.

Mookie
Mookie

Everyone loves the snow November and December around the holidays. So I would say January, February, and March are the only bad months. But I still get out and appreciate the snow. April can often be sunnier and warmer.

I would be hard pressed to find many locations in the US that only have 3 months of “bad” weather.

Slim

The official H/L at Grand Rapids yesterday was 79/63 there was no rain fall and there was 58% of possible sunshine. Here in MBY the overnight low for today so far was 65 and I had 0.07” of rain fall. At the current time there is some light rain falling and it is 65. The average H/L for today remains at 83/63 the record high for today is 108 set in 1936 and that is the all time official record high for Grand Rapids. The record low of 46 was set in 1898. There have been only two times when… Read more »

Mark (East Lansing)
Mark (East Lansing)

I am enjoying this weather. Average temps and lots of sunshine lately. We need rain here badly, though.

Have you seen any of the pics from the Webb telescope? Amazing!

Slim

Yes on all accounts. The weather while dry has been great and yes the pics are as you said Amazing.
Slim