We have a dry and warm start to this morning. At 5 am we have 71° with rain to the south of Allegan County. The rain has stayed to the north and south of our area. Showers will diminish this morning, then skies will gradually clear through the afternoon. We may see a few additional showers or storms near the I-94 corridor later in the day. After today we will be coming into a dry spell which will last into next week. I am seeing the temp forecasts for next week in the mid to upper 70s which will be a welcome change and something we haven’t seen in quite a while.
Weather History
July 26
1896: A tornado struck a few miles northeast of Battle Creek, seriously injuring one person as it destroyed a farm home and barns in Pennfield Township, Calhoun County.
1973: A tornado damaged a mobile home and some farm wagons two miles southeast of Clare, Michigan.
1977: Canadian high pressure brings record cold temperatures of 46 degrees at Muskegon and 47 degrees at Grand Rapids.
July 27
1894: The temperature hit 100 degrees at Lansing during the second record heatwave of the month, the first of which occurred a week earlier when Lansing set its all-time record of 102 degrees
1955: Temperatures reached the upper 90s for the second day in a row across West Michigan in one of the hottest months on record. At Grand Rapids, 15 days had high temperatures above 90 degrees during July 1955.
2002: A severe weather outbreak produces tornado and downburst wind damage. A tornado with top winds around 80 mph touched down about one mile east of Augusta in Kalamazoo County. The tornado passed through Fort Custer in western Calhoun County, about one mile northwest of the Battle Creek airport. The damage path was approximately 800 yards wide and path length was 3 miles long. Extensive tree damage occurred in the Fort Custer area and the roof was blown off a firing range shelter. After the tornado ended, downburst damage continued for several more miles in Calhoun County. A severe thunderstorm struck a campground and mobile home park along Swan Lake in southern Allegan County. Trees were blown down onto mobile homes and small boats were blown out of the lake. Two minor injuries occurred. Top winds with the downburst were estimated at 70 mph.
July 28
1959: A steady rain brought relief from drought conditions across West Michigan. Dry weather began in April, resulting in water rationing in Grand Rapids by the middle of July.
1976: A tornado injures five people northwest of Grand Rapids as it damages a warehouse.
1996: A weak, short-lived tornado damaged a pole barn near Evart on Osceola County.
July 29
1916: Temperatures soared to record highs as a ten day heat wave reached its peak. The 102 degrees at Lansing would tie the record for the hottest day ever there. Grand Rapids hit 103 degrees as part of a record string of four consecutive days of 100 degrees or higher. Even the Lake Michigan shore was baking, with Muskegon hitting 95 degrees.
July 30
1913: Offshore winds negate the cooling effect of Lake Michigan as Muskegon hits 99 degrees for its all-time record high temperature. Temperatures are actually a bit lower inland as Grand Rapids is 96 degrees and Lansing 92 degrees.
1960: Two squall lines preceding a cold front produced widespread severe weather with high winds and hail. Severe crop damage from hail occurred across much of Kent County.
2008: A tornado struck about three miles north of Clare at 3:17 a.m. A barn collapsed and the roof of a carport was blown into a stand of trees. Several other trees were either snapped off or uprooted.
July 31
1883: Very heavy rains during June and July cause the Grand River to rise to unusually high summer levels. Lumber companies use the high water to float logs to a log boom upstream of Grand Rapids. The logs broke loose and crashed into the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railroad bridge creating a jam estimated at thirty-feet deep and seven-miles long. Sections of Grand Rapids were flooded by backwater. Eventually the bridge gave way and several bridges downstream were damaged by the cascading logs.
1917: A heat wave produced record highs in the upper 90s as July ended, with Grand Rapids hitting 98 degrees and Lansing 96 degrees. There were also record high minimum temperatures of 79 degrees at Grand Rapids and 74 at Lansing.
2005: Hot and dry weather during the month leads to drought conditions along the Lake Michigan coast. Agricultural production was hampered as the dry conditions continue into August.
August 1
1886: A tornado moves from northern Kalamazoo County into Barry County, damaging several farms in and near Hickory Corners.
1947: What turns out to be the hottest August on record starts off on a decidedly cool note with record lows of 48 degrees at Grand Rapids and 43 degrees at Muskegon.
1993: A severe storm in Kent County produced grapefruit-sized hail in Cannon Township, northeast of Grand Rapids.
2002: A tornado struck north of Tustin in Osceola County. The tornado left a damage path six miles long, with dozens of large trees down and some roof damage to homes. One house had its attached garage destroyed. A weaker tornado also hit near Grant in Newaygo County, toppling a tree.
Middle of May we had frost frezze warnings for Grand Rapids not to long ago crazy…INDY..
Grand Rapids had lows of 29 on May 12 and 31 on May 13th
Slim
Hey Slim, when you get time could you look up the top 5 or 10 warmest July’s in the past 20 or 30 years? I think you posted something similar recently but I couldn’t find it. Obviously 2012 is #1, but just curious how this year stacks up against others in the past 30 or so years.
In the 30-year span 1990 to 2020 the mean for July is 72.3. The range has been from a hot 79.2 in 2012 to a cool 67.1 in 2009. The top 10 in the last 30 years are 1. 79.2 in 2012. 2. 77.0 in 2014. 3. 76.0 so far this year. 4. 75.5 in 2016. 5. 75.4 in 2019. 6. 74 in 2002. 74.7 in 2006. 8. 74.7 in 1999. 9. 74.7 in 2018 and 10. 74.3 in 2016. As you can see we have had many hot July’s in the last 10 years with 7 of the top… Read more »
Good stuff. Thanks Slim!
Oh well…Summer in the Southern Arctuc is simply too short. It sure was a good one this year, glad it stopped by for a few weeks. Looking forward to a repeat next year. Let’s not be surprised by the routine endless collapse in conditions, and temps. Coats, Furnace, Snowblower test…you know the drill.
8 months of the furnace ended 2 months ago! crazzy in a just about a month it’s September already ….INDY
You were running your furnace at Christmas time and in January when temps were in the 60’s?? That’s just ridiculous.
The shtick is up! We’ve been warm 4 years in a row!
The shtick hu?? That’s Mr negative and he’s only telling the truth lol… INDY….
Serious heat out west. Triple digits temps not only for the desert southwest, but also Washington and Oregon.
Good morning currently 64* degrees in beautiful Boyne Mountain Michigan feeling Fallish up here looking ahead average temps start falling now and with Summer more then halfway over did we just feel our last 90 degrees last week we shall see Low 80’s and upper 70’s as far as the eye can see looks like no more heat in sight …We are having a blast on vacation yesterday it rained all day in the upper peninsula with a high of only 64* loving the cool weather up here have a super Wednesday…INDY
Ah the usual “did we see our last 90 degree day” from Indy while it’s still July. Right on schedule LOL
Ha, like 2 years ago and then we had a week of upper 90’s the last week of September.
Lol I believe Saturday is August 1st already… Carry onnnn…. INDY
Phew, July has been very warm. Only 3 below average days all month!
While winter, spring, and fall in Michigan see lots of variation compared to the temperature averages, the summer months are almost always closer to the mean. In fact, if we finish over +3 degrees above average in July, it will be the warmest summer month compared to average since at least 2015 (as far back as online records go).
It looks like this July is in line to be the warmest since 2012. Last last year July had mean here in Grand Rapids was 75.4 and in 2018 it was 74.4. So there now have been 3 very warm July’s in a row here at GR. In 2015 the mean at GR was 70.8. Over the years the man at Grand Rapids has ranged from a high of 79.7 in 1921 to a low of 67.1 in 2009.
Slim
I had a total of 0.52″ of rain overnight with some lightning. The low here was a mild 66 at this time it is clear and 67 here. Officially at GRR they reported just 0.22″ of rain and their low was 68 with a current temperature there of 72. To my west at Muskegon they reported 1.01″ of rain with the low the same as mine of 66. And their current temperature is 69.
Slim
We got hosed on the rain again. Decent amounts of rain fell just to our north.
“Missed it by that much.”
– Maxwell Smart
0.48” of rain here overnight with some decent lightening. Another warm and very humid morning again today with the dew point at 70. This has been a long and uncomfortable month!
The mean at GRR so far this July is 76.0. And that is good for a departure of +3.5. So while not all that hot compared for much of the US it is warmer then average for our area.
Slim
Like the past couple years, it seems the humidity has been much higher than years past. Even if it’s “only” 85 out, a dew point in the mid 70’s is intolerable.
Will be the hottest summer month in many years (relative to average) if we finish near here. Unbelievable.
That is not correct. It will be one of the warmest since 2012 and will be in a close race with last year. When the mean was 75.4. In 2018 the mean was 74.4
Slim
With a current mean of 76, what’s not correct about my statement?
That this will be the “warmest summer month in many years”. It may or may not break last year and is well behind 2012. So while the current mean of 76.0 is correct it may be warmer then last year but no where near as hot as 2012 so it will not be the hottest summer month on many years.
Slim
LOL Exactly. It’s been many summers since the summer of 2012. That’s impressive in my book.
Maybe 8 years is a long time in your book. We will know on Saturday if this year ended up warmer then just last year.
Slim
Never said long-term. I said “many.” I was always taught to use “few” and then use “several” and then use “many.” Not sure why the disagreement.
You say many, I say several.
Slim
But then again this summer is nothing compared to 2012 your so right again Slim ….INDY