This week is the 87th anniversary of the greatest heat wave in Michigan history. At Grand Rapids the heat wave started on July 7th with a high of 98 and 11 of the next 12 days had highs of 90 or better and there were 6 days of 100 or better including the all time record high of 108 on July 13th
Take a look at what Michigan suffered through in July 1936. All of southern Michigan and much of northern Michigan sweltered with seven days in a row over 100 degrees. Mio, MI had Michigan’s hottest temperature ever recorded at 112 degrees on July 13, 1936. Take a look at the high temperatures between July 7th and the 14th
Detroit 104, 102, 102, 101, 100, 102, 104
Flint 108, 105, 102, 104, 105, 108, 105
Saginaw 107, 104, 107, 107, 105, 111
Ann Arbor 102, 100, 100, 90, 103, 103, 103
Grand Rapids 98, 101, 101, 102, 99, 106, 108, 102
Kalamazoo 101, 104, 102, 103, 102, 105, 109, 108, 103
For some reason Lansing was cooler with highs of
91,98,96,98,99,99,101. And Holland had highs just in the upper 90’s Muskegon only had highs in the 80’s on most days.
According to MSU, 364 died in Detroit during the 1936 heat wave. In Michigan, 570 people died during that week due to heat. Nationally 5000 died in what is still the nation’s most intense heat wave.
We haven’t had a heat wave even come close to the torrid heat of July 1936.
The 30 year average for the number of days of 90 or better in southern lower Michigan are Grand Rapids and Lansing 10, Holland 9, Muskegon 4, To the east Detroit 13, Flint 11 and Saginaw 8. So far this year Grand Rapids and Lansing are at 9 days of 90 or better. Muskegon has the lead with 10 Holland has 7. On the east side of the state Detroit and Flint have only 2 and Saginaw has 4 so far.
The official H/L yesterday at Grand Rapids was 80/58 there was a reported 0.01” of rain fall. There were 4 CDD’s the total since June 1st in now at 218 that is +8 so the summer has been warmer than average so far. Last year at this time there were 222 so this summer so far is cooler than last year. For today the average H/L is 83/62 the record high of 101 was set in 1936 and the record low of 46 was set in 1992. The coldest maximum of 68 was set in 2015, 2004 and 2000. Last year the H/L was 81/62.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
347 AM EDT SAT JUL 8 2023
LATEST UPDATE…
SHORT TERM/LONG TERM/MARINE
SHORT TERM
(TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY)
ISSUED AT 347 AM EDT SAT JUL 8 2023
MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY OVER WI PIVOTS EAST THROUGH LWR MI
TODAY, BRINGING SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND PERHAPS A FEW
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.
GUIDANCE/CAMS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH QPF AMOUNTS AND
PLACEMENT, BUT HREF PROBABILITY-MATCHED MEAN APPROACH SUGGESTS
THAT THE HIGHEST RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL OCCUR OVER/NEAR THE
SAGINAW BAY AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS WHERE SFC CONVERGENCE
IS MAXIMIZED. THIS MAY INCLUDE THE MT PLEASANT AND CLARE AREAS,
WHERE LOCAL AMOUNTS OVER 1″ ARE POSSIBLE.
OTHER LOCAL/NARROW STREAKS OF HEAVIER 1″ AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE
SOUTHEAST OF GRR THIS AFTERNOON PER HREF/CAM GUIDANCE WHERE SFC
BASED CAPES CREEP UP ABOVE 500 J/KG. OTHERWISE RAINFALL AMOUNTS
TODAY EXPECTED TO BE MOSTLY IN THE 0.10″ TO 0.25″ RANGE.
SHOWERS END FROM WEST TO EAST LATER TODAY/THIS EVENING, WITH THE
LAKESHORE COUNTIES NORTH OF HOLLAND POSSIBLY SEEING SOME SUNSHINE
DEVELOPING BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. HIGH TEMPS WILL BE HELD DOWN
IN THE 70S TODAY BY THE CLOUDS AND SHOWERS.
COULD BE A FEW FOG PATCHES DEVELOPING TONIGHT WHERE ANY HEAVIER
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OCCUR TODAY AS SKIES CLEAR WITH LIGHT WINDS.
DRIER AIR MASS WILL BE OVER THE AREA ON SUNDAY AND A MOSTLY SUNNY
AND WARMER DAY IS FORECAST. HOWEVER TROUGHING CONTINUES ALOFT
WITH ANOTHER SHORTWAVE PIVOTING THROUGH. THIS COULD SUPPORT A FEW
ISOLATED SHOWERS DEVELOPING AGAIN IN THE AFTERNOON, MAINLY
NEAR/EAST OF HIGHWAY 127 THOUGH.
LONG TERM
(SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)
ISSUED AT 316 AM EDT SAT JUL 8 2023
HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE MOVING AWAY FROM THE STATE SUNDAY NIGHT, BUT
WILL STILL BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO PRODUCE DRY WEATHER THROUGH MONDAY. A
DEEP UPPER LOW NEAR HUDSON BAY WILL PUSH A COLD FRONT SOUTH ACROSS
THE UPPER GREAT LAKES MONDAY NIGHT. WE’RE LIKELY TO SEE AN INCREASE
IN RAIN CHANCES MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY, ESPECIALLY OVER THE
NORTHERN CWA WHICH WILL BE CLOSER TO THE ACCOMPANYING SHORT WAVE.
RAIN CHANCES DECREASE WEDNESDAY AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH.
HOWEVER, THE MODELS DIVERGE A BIT AT THAT POINT. THE ECMWF STALLS
THE FRONT SOUTH OF THE MI BORDER AND THEN DEVELOPS A LOW OVER THE
PLAINS THAT RIDES NORTHEAST ALONG THE FRONT AND PUSHES
SHOWERS/STORMS INTO THE CWA WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. THE GFS ON
THE OTHER HAND NEVER REALLY PUSHES THE FRONT THROUGH THE CWA AND SO
THE PLAINS LOW MOVES RIGHT ACROSS THE CWA. EITHER SCENARIO SHOULD
GIVE US SOME RAIN TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY.
CHANCES FOR LIGHT SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY TOO AS
THE UPPER LOW IN CANADA CONTINUES TO SEND A STREAM OF MINOR SHORT
WAVES THROUGH THE FLOW ACROSS THE STATE.
TYPICAL SUMMER HIGHS IN THE 80S AND HUMID DEWPOINTS IN THE 60S ARE
EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD.
Detailed Forecast for Grand Rapids
Overnight
A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a steady temperature around 64. Northeast wind 3 to 5 mph.
Saturday
A chance of showers before 8am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8am and 11am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. East northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming northwest in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday Night
A slight chance of thunderstorms before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. North wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 10%.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy through mid morning, then becoming sunny, with a high near 80. North wind 5 to 9 mph.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 57. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light west after midnight.
Detailed Forecast for Lansing
Overnight
A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a steady temperature around 68. Southeast wind around 6 mph.
Saturday
Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. South southeast wind around 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a chance of showers between 11pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. North wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 80. North wind 8 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 58. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light west northwest after midnight.
Currently 68 degrees back home in my hood did it even get above 70 degrees today?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Wow to the wowy … INDY
Currently down in Indiana around the boarder Millbury area its only 71* degrees not bad for mid July standards its been a lot hotter this tome of year and by the way the corn looks great and everything is green green green .. INDY in INDIANA…
So far today I have recorded 0.07″ of rain fall. At the current time it is cloudy and 65 here in MBY.
Slim
We had a few sprinkles here last night and this morning. Sunny and blue sky the rest of the day.
The 10 to 14 day outlook shows blue as far as the eye can see are we heading towrds the 4th month in a row for below normal?? Isn’t this the hottest month of the year?? Shuuuu we will tale it!! Lets bring on September yeahhhh!! INDY
Yes the overall cool pattern is great, despite the constant warm weather hype! Truly incredible!
Where is all this blue you speak of?
Probably the 6-10 day outlook. But again, “cool” in July is still warm
And the 3 to 4 week is all BLUE, BLUE and BLUE!
Yes the 6 to 10 day and the 3 to 4 week CPC is all blue, blue and more blue! Wow, just wow, WOW! bring it!
Exactly….. INDY…
It would be nice to get some more rain today. Even with all the rain around us it always seems to miss us or barely skim us. Today looks to be no exception with the bulk going north and south. Haha.
Same here. We’re stuck in the middle again.
How much if any rain did you get on Wednesday night? On the way home there was a lot of lightning in the Lansing area but we did not get any rain to just west of Grand Rapids. Also not sure how much it happens but on the way to and on the way back it was warmer on the west side of Lansing than on the east side.
Slim
Not a ton but we had a pretty decent soaking
We really need a tropical system to move into Michigan to get rid of the drought for good. These summer hit or miss storms are helping some, but not others. I’ve been one of the lucky ones for sure
55 days to Metoragist Fall on that thought it feels like Fall outside rain showers and 63 degrees currently out in my hood love it!!! More rain is falling amazing….INDY
I hope we never see a heat wave like that again. But the way things have been going, we just might.
I had thought that we could have been setting up for a real heat wave this summer, but with the recent rain fall and the cooler look for most of July that don’t seem to be the case this year.
Slim
Seems like the real heat has been bottled up in the southern/southwestern states.