Our summer-like weather pattern continues today and appears to want to continue on into next week. I can’t help but think we will pay for this as we move into late October into November as Michigan is known for extreme weather changes. For now, we will enjoy our extended summer even though the dry sunny days affect the fall colors with more brown and yellows rather than the other colors we have enjoyed in past autumns.
We have a lot of walnut leaves on the ground along with a large crop of walnuts this year which leads me to believe we will have a cold snowy winter. My wife and I have been afraid of working under the walnut trees with the nuts falling like hail at times.
We have experienced a lack of rain here in Allegan County and the lakeshore but we have hope of rectifying that with the showers forecast for tomorrow and Friday with up to an inch of rain forecast for the area.
Yesterday’s high temp was 70° and the low was 59°.
Weather History for SW Michigan
October 3
1898: Lansing hits 90 degrees for its highest October temperature.
1954: Heavy rains cause some minor flooding across southwest Lower Michigan. Grand Rapids and Muskegon both have their wettest October days on record with rainfall totals around 3.5 inches.
1974: Temperatures plummet into the 20s as very cold weather continues. Record lows included 22 degrees at Lansing, 23 at Grand Rapids, and 25 at Muskegon.
October 4
1935: Snowflakes are observed across Lower Michigan and Grand Rapids has a record cold high temperature of 42 degrees.
1951: Summer-like weather prevailed with lows in the mid-60s and highs in the 80s. Record highs include 87 degrees at Grand Rapids, 86 at Lansing and 83 at Muskegon.
October 5
2005: Balmy weather prevails across Lower Michigan, especially along the coast of Lake Michigan, where the low temperature for the day at Muskegon is a record warm 70 degrees, followed by a high of 80 degrees.
October 6
1998: A squall line moved across Lower Michigan producing tornadoes, downbursts, and some flooding. A tornado struck Ferris State University in Big Rapids, injuring seven students. Another tornado moved from northern Isabella County into southern Clare County, damaging several homes. Total damage with the storms was more than a million dollars.
October 7
1965: A tornado destroyed a trailer and several outbuildings southeast of Clare in Isabella County.
2007: Temperatures reach record highs as very warm weather prevails across Lower Michigan from the 5th to the 8th. Grand Rapids sets three record highs in a row with temperatures in the upper 80s from the 6th to the 8th.
October 8
1871: The worst wildfires in the history of the Great Lakes region occur as strong south winds combine with tinder-dry conditions. The fires leveled several areas of Michigan and Wisconsin, including the cities of Peshtigo, Holland, Manistee, and Port Huron. At least 1200 people died, about half of them in the Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire. That same night, the Great Chicago Fire erupted, destroying much of the city.
October 9
1989: Record cold temperatures put the freeze on southwest Lower Michigan for the second day in a row. Records include 23 degrees at Grand Rapids and Lansing and 24 degrees at Muskegon. The record cold is accompanied by scattered snow flurries.
Weather History for SE Michigan
October 3
On October 3, 1954, 4.58 inches of rainfall fell in Saginaw. This is the greatest amount of precipitation recorded for the month of October in Saginaw and is almost twice the amount of rainfall that normally falls during the entire month!
Also on October 3, 1935, snowflakes were falling across Southeast Michigan. Detroit reported a trace for the second earliest observed snow on record.
October 4
On October 4, 1990, Genesee county experienced an F2 tornado at 5:00 pm that injured one person and cost $2.5 million in damages.
October 5
On October 5, 1900, record highs were set three days in a row of 88 degrees on the 4th, 5th and 6th in Saginaw. It also ties with the highest temperature of the month.
October 6
On October 6, 1963, the temperature rose to 89 degrees in Flint. This ties with October 1, 2002 and October 3, 1953 for the record maximum temperature for the month of October in Flint.
October 7
On October 7, 2017, a cold front tracked across Southeast Michigan between 9 PM – 12 AM. Thunderstorms ahead of the cold front produced severe winds that resulted in numerous downed trees and power lines, especially in Monroe County.
Also on October 7, 2009, a strong low-pressure system tracked north of the Great Lakes region, with the associated cold front swinging through lower Michigan. Winds gusted between 45 to 55 mph with isolated gusts to 58 mph over a six to eight-hour time frame during the morning hours. With leaves still on the trees, tree branches and trees were reported down in and around the Detroit Metro Area. About 110,000 customers were without power from this wind event.
Also on October 7, 2007, the third day out of a four-day early October heat wave brought record highs to Southeast Michigan. Saginaw reached 91, and Flint was 88, both of which were records. Detroit reached 89 falling shy of the record temperature for the date.
Also on this date in 1963, the temperature rose to 92 degrees in Detroit. This is the record maximum temperature for the month of October in Detroit.
October 8
On October 8, 2007, the fourth day of early October heat brought record highs to Southeast Michigan. Detroit reached and Saginaw reached 90, and Flint was 88, all of which were records. It was the latest recorded 90-degree day in the history of both Detroit and Saginaw as well.
Also on October 8, 2001, Flint hit a record low of 25 degrees.
Also on October 8, 2000, an unusual early October cold blast brought one of the earliest snowfalls on record to southeast Michigan. Wet snowflakes fell in Flint on both the 7th and 8th, while snow was observed at Detroit Metro Airport on the 8th only. For Detroit, this was the third earliest snowfall on record. While the snow only fell in trace amounts in the major metropolitan areas, more substantial snow was observed in the Thumb area. One to two inches of slushy snow contributed to auto accidents in Huron County.
October 9
On October 9, 1949, two days of record highs occurred in Detroit with temperatures at 86 degrees on the 9th and 84 degrees on the 10th.
Forecast Discussion
Fair weather again today but the upper trough that closed off across the SE CONUS last weekend will continue moving north with rain showers and some embedded thunderstorms arriving on Thursday and persisting into Friday as the upper low opens up into a trough and is ejected eastward as a longwave trough amplifies across the western CONUS. QPF amounts in excess of an inch are possible as precipitable water values spike up well above climatological norms. Generally fair weather over the weekend with increasing chances for rain early next week as shortwave troughing ejects eastward from the full latitude trough across the West.
Forget summer and bring on winter with tons of cold and snow? I love it!
Yup, Summer keeps rolling along well into Fall. If it’s anything like the past several years, Fall will push into January before Winter gets going. It has been a very dry Fall in our area as well. Leaves aren’t even changing color, they’re just drying up and falling off.
Dry Fall?? Not here, we have seen copious amounts of rain this Fall including 2.4 inches this past weekend! Incredibly wet Fall!
Lakeshore counties have been dry, especially Allegan county – leaves have been turning brown and yellow then fall off the trees due to stress from lack of rain.
We did receive about an inch of rain Sunday morning, but that’s about how much we’ve had in total since mid August. And that rain all came in about 20 minutes in a heavy downpour, most of which just washed away and didn’t soak in the ground.
Wet here. Still standing water in spots. I’ve had to mow every three or four days for the past two weeks or so. Grass is super green and growing fast.
Thank goodness the warm air is still in our area. No complaints here.
Mid to upper 70’s next week? I love long summers!
We are back home after spending a week in the Bay City area for my mother in law’s funeral. There was 1.35″ of rain in the rain gauge when we got home yesterday. We brought some of my mother in laws things home with us so I rented a U haul for that. I left my car up in Linwood so we will be going back up today to pick it up. Up in the Bay City area there is some good color on the trees but the leaves are already falling so not sure how long that will last.… Read more »