Yesterday we had a high temperature of 72° (when the sunshine made brief appearances). We recorded no rainfall. Today we should see more sunshine by afternoon and temperatures rising to the mid-70s. This week looks to be mainly dry until the Thursday/Friday timeframe. Temperatures throughout the week will increase from the upper 70s to the low 80s.
Weather History
1864: Lansing hits 101 degrees. This was the all-time high-temperature record for Lansing before being broken by a reading of 102 in 1894.
1941: It was a soggy day as Grand Rapids and Muskegon set daily rainfall records of about an inch and a half.
2004: Cool and cloudy weather was observed with high temperatures only in the 60s. Record low maximum temperatures occur at Grand Rapids with 63 degrees, 64 at Lansing, and 61 at Muskegon.
On August 11, 2021, two rounds of thunderstorms impacted the region: the first during the afternoon and the second during the late evening into the following morning. A wind gust of 75 mph was measured at Mt. Clemens as the well-organized line of storms swept eastward during the afternoon. Training storms occurred with the evening/overnight round and led to prolonged heavy rainfall and flooding, with some areas in Livingston County and Metro Detroit receiving between 3 and 5 inches of rain. Nearly 850,000 customers across the state lost power due to the storms.
On August 11, 2014, widespread heavy rain and severe flooding were observed across Southeast Michigan as a moisture-laden and unseasonably strong low-pressure system traversed the area. Rainfall generally ranged from 2 to 5 inches across Southeast Michigan. The heaviest rain, a band of 3 to 6 inches, fell in the heavily urbanized corridor of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties, centered on the I-696 corridor, especially near and east of I-75.
The resultant flooding was severe due to excessive runoff. Up to 14 feet of water was reported at the I-696/I-75 interchange and nearly all major expressways in the area were shut down due to flooding and debris. Dozens, if not hundreds, of cars were submerged or suffered flood damage and numerous homes in the Detroit area were flooded.
There were no direct fatalities associated with the flooding, although two indirect fatalities were reported. The first was a 100-year-old Warren woman who was found deceased in her flooded basement. The second was a 68-year-old Warren man who suffered a heart attack while attempting to push his vehicle out of flooded waters in Oak Park. Cleanup efforts lasted well into the following week. The total damage came to an incredible $1.8 billion.
Also on August 11, 1967, three record lows of 47, 46, and 47 degrees occurred in Detroit from the 11th-13th, respectively.
NWS Forecast
Forecast Discussion
- Fair weather today through Monday Any isolated early morning light rain showers and sprinkles will end by mid morning as the upper level trough/vort max departs. It will be partly sunny today with pleasant high temps reaching the low to mid 70s as per latest ensemble guidance numbers. 00Z HREF guidance suggests sct-bkn cloud cover will be moving out by late afternoon with skies becoming mostly clear tonight. 925-850 mb temps continue to slowly moderate Monday. A sct-bkn fair wx cu deck will likely develop particularly near to east of US-131 along with some sct high cloud cover. It will be several degrees milder Monday with high temps reaching the upper 70s to lower 80s. - Dry through midweek; better support for late-week rain There now appears to be growing support in deterministic and ensemble guidance for some appreciable rainfall toward the end of the coming week into next weekend. A digging upper trough approaching from the nrn Plains helps to draw up Gulf moisture (PWATs >1.5") by Thursday night although decent spread exists regarding the amplitude/movement of the upper trough and the strength of the sfc reflection over the weekend. The number of EC/CMC ensemble members showing 24 hour QPF over 1" between Thursday night and Saturday has grown substantially and NBM pops have trended up during this period as well. Best support for the more substantial rain amounts looks to be in the Thursday night/Friday timeframe although GEFS not looking quite as convincing as EC/CMC. The slow moving trough and sfc system slowly drift through the area over the weekend which keeps shower and tstm chances going. However the extent and duration of continuing rain chances look to hinge on whether or not the upper low closes off overhead/nearby or if it is a more progressive system. Otherwise little change in thinking regarding the stretch of dry weather continuing through mid week with near normal temps (highs near 80) as surface ridging/dry air mass dominates.
We now have 10 days in the record books for August 2024 and at Grand Rapids the mean is 71.6 that is a departure of -0.6 the highest so far has been 89 and the lowest so far has been 56. There has been 0.85” of rainfall that is a departure of -0.34” All in all this has been a near average month so far.
Slim
What – below normal temps and no 90’s! Who would have thought?
The official H/L yesterday was 70/56 there was a trace of rainfall. The highest wind gust was 36MPH out of the W. The sun was out 33% of the time. For today the average H/L is 82/63 the record high of 96 was in 1947 the coldest high of 63 was in 2004 the record low of 43 was in 1967 the warmest low of 75 was in 1944. The record rainfall of 1.31” was in 1941.
Slim