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Weather History

Posted on by MichaelV (Otsego)

High pressure will provide dry weather today, but clouds will linger especially from Grand Rapids to the south and east. Rain will redevelop late tonight and continue Thursday as low pressure tracks through the Ohio Valley Region. Dry weather returns for Friday, but another system brings rain or mixed snow and rain on Saturday. Below normal temperatures are expected next week.

March 25

1954: Heavy rain and high winds occur as a cold front moves through. Grand Rapids measures 2.82 inches of rain for their wettest March day on record. Flooding of streams is widespread and winds gusting over 70 mph causes roof damage and uproots trees.

1974: Grand Rapids falls to one below zero for its latest subzero reading on record.

March 26

1934: A record snowstorm began across southeast Lower Michigan with around a foot of snow falling at Jackson, Lansing and Battle Creek. Snow totals dropped off quickly to the northwest with Grand Rapids getting only about an inch.

1993: Dense fog caused a fatal airplane crash at Ludington. The pilot was trying to land in near zero visibility and collided with trees and terrain on his second approach to the airport. The pilot was seriously injured and his wife, the only passenger, was killed.

March 27

1991: A tornado outbreak hits the Midwest, wreaking havoc from Iowa to Ohio. In Michigan, at least 15 tornadoes strike. Eighteen people were injured in Calhoun County as eight homes were destroyed there.

One of the largest in outbreaks in Michigan history. Fifteen tornadoes touched down across the state, including 4 F3, 3 F2, 3 F1, and 5 F0 tornadoes. These tornadoes resulted in 18 injuries and over 40 million dollars in damage.  March 27, 1991, in Michigan was characterized by unseasonably warm and humid conditions, with several rounds of rain and thunderstorms. A warm front had passed northward through the Lower Peninsula of Michigan by 7am, placing Michigan in southerly flow, allowing temperatures to reach into the mid-60s by the afternoon, with dew points approaching 60 degrees, from the Ohio border to the Straits of Mackinac.

March 28

1904: Heavy rain and temperatures in the 50s during the last week of March combined with the melting of a deep snowpack to cause some of the worst flooding on record along the Grand and Kalamazoo Rivers. About half the city of Grand Rapids is underwater as the river reaches an all-time record crest of 19.6 feet, which was 2 feet higher than the previous record and 4.6 feet above flood stage. Water covered half of the city and flood waters reached 2,500 houses and 14,000 people. Many people suffered from hunger and exposure. Several factories and between 200 and 300 business were flooded. Loses totaled $1,800,000. Lansing has the worst flood in 135 years of record. Battle Creek is also inundated by floodwaters.

1920: One of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history strikes from Wisconsin to Georgia, killing more than 150 people. In Michigan, at least a dozen people were killed and hundreds of homes were either damaged or destroyed. The worst hit areas in Michigan included Saint Johns in Clinton County, Maple Grove and Orangeville in Barry County, and Fenton in Genesee County.

March 29

1910: Temperatures peak in the upper 70s to lower 80s during one of the warmest months of March on record across Lower Michigan. The high of 82 degrees sets a record for the warmest ever recorded in March at Grand Rapids.

1954: A snowstorm drops from 5 to 10 inches of snow across southern Lower Michigan. Kalamazoo records 8 inches of snow and Grand Rapids a record 7.5 inches.

March 30

1977: A tornado struck four miles north of Hart in Oceana County, injuring three people as it destroyed four trailers and damaged a business

March 31

1923: March goes out like a cold lion with record lows in the single numbers and lake effect snow showers.

2006: A tornado hits a few miles east of Jackson, taking down hundreds of trees and causing minor structural damage in the town of Leoni.

 

Category: Michigan Weather Forecast

30 thoughts on “Weather History”

  1. With Tigers opening day tomorrow it sounds like Spring. It might not feel like it. LOL!! I am hoping for great weather for Spring break. Kyle mentioned measurable snow Wed night & Thurs next week so maybe they might be sledding.

  2. Get ready for accumulating SNOW this weekend! I absolutely love it! What a Spring break!

      1. That is 100% wrong, but it is your story! Check back with me on Monday and we will see if GR gets any accumulating SNOW baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. Indy/Rocky do either of you remember the name of the warm weather person who claimed they were from Oxford Michigan who used to comment on Bill’s old blog??? for some reason I can not remember that persons blog name.
    Slim

        1. What was the name of that cold weather troll who talked nonstop about cold and snow storms that never happened and the weather in Traverse City and Petoskey all the time??? Oops never mind….

    2. It was definitely Travis that always talked about Flint, MI! He was a warm weather troll!!

  5. GR will likely see its third consecutive warmer than average high today. GR is now 1″ below the seasonal average (for this time of year) in terms of snowfall.

  6. So just where does Grand Rapids stand so far this month and year? For the month of March as of March 27th the mean is 33.4° that is a departure of -1.5° so far this month the average high/low has been 42.5° 24.3° the 30 years vs the average of 43.7/26.4 there has been 4.9” of snow fall the average as of this date should be 7.9”
    As for the year so far (since January 1st) the average high/low is 37.0/21.3 the long term average is 35.9/21.3 so we have been warmer for highs this year but the low is right at average. Of course the year is above average at 29.2° vs the average of 28.6° (+0.6°) we have had 8.02” of precip vs the average of 5.98” and for snow fall we are now at 71.7” vs the average at this time of 72.7” (yes we are now below average for the seasonal snow fall total)
    Slim

    1. I laughed out load when I read that. Temps in the 30s is now considered hazardous? To funny!

    2. Our course opened this week, and there were quite a few golfers out this morning.

  8. Record breaking cold coming don’t put the snow shovels away yet… I hope this don’t screw up the growing season for our farmers … INDYDOG14!!

    1. Record cold? How is that possible? According to a few on here we are always above normal and we are are stuck in an above normal temp pattern, even though the facts disprove these notions! INCREDIBLE!

      1. It looks like we are in for a cold Easter weekend so I thought I would look to see what some of the records are for both March 31st and April 1st
        At Grand Rapids on March 31st the average H/L is 51/32 the record high is 78° set in 2010 the coldest maximum is a cold 20° set in 1923 the record low is also in 1920 at a bone chilling +6° the most snow fall is 3.7” in 1951. The last time there was more than a trace of snow was in 1991 (0.4”) the last time there was one inch or more was in 1975 with 2”
        For April 1st the average H/L is 52/32 the record high is 82 in 2010 the recorded coldest maximum is 29 in 1911. The record low is 13 in 1954 the most snow fall is 4.8” in 1972 The last time more than a trace fell was in 2002 when 0.9” fell there was a trace in 2016, 2013, 2009 and 2007. The last time more than 1” fell was in 1993 when 2.8” fell and there was a reported 1” on the ground.
        Slim

        1. The high in GR for this coming Easter will be at or near all time records! Absolutely INCREDIBLE!

    1. Why do you keep posting those maps? If you were to add them all up over the past several months, we were supposed to have 518 inches of snow by now. But in reality, we are sitting below normal at about 70.

      1. Trends baby! And the trend in the next 2 weeks is COLD and SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        1. 30’s and 40’s is far from cold, and the only trend we have been in for several years now is warmer than normal minus a month here and there.

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