We have a few isolated light rain showers and sprinkles in the area this morning. There is a 30% chance of seeing some sort of rain though most of the time it will be dry through the rest of the week. We have had .69 of an inch of rain in the Otsego area so far this month which is a bit below normal – the ground is starting to get dry.
The humidity will build back in this weekend after a pleasant period of lower humidities and temps in the upper 70s. The past couple months we have seen a lot of sunshine with very little in the way of rainy, cloudy days and no cool temps in the lower 70s. The long range outlooks keep us above normal temperature wise (52% chance) and near normal rain. Normal highs are 79° and lows are at 56°.
Weather History
August 11
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.
August 12
1864: The temperature hits 96 degrees at Lansing for a record high. The record for the coolest high temperature is set exactly one hundred years later in 1964, when the high is only 62 degrees at Lansing
1979: A summer cool spell sets several record lows over the course of a week. On this date, Muskegon falls to 45 degrees for a record low.
2016: Record rains fall at Grand Rapids with 2.61 inches for the day. A small tornado destroys an outbuilding and takes down a few trees east of Douglas, Michigan.
August 13
2002: Severe weather produces widespread wind damage across southwest Lower Michigan. A tornado struck near Rockford in Kent County, causing minor damage to several homes and vehicles.
August 14
1987: A total of 3.61 inches of rain falls at Grand Rapids, making this the second wettest August day on record and contributing to a record monthly total of 8.46 inches.
1988: A tornado struck East Lansing and then proceeded southeast, leaving an intermittent damage path south of Okemos to Gregory. A man camping near Stockbridge was killed when a tree fell on him.
1995: Lightning struck and killed a 33-year old man walking through his campsite in Coldbrook Park in Kalamazoo County.
August 15
1951: Tornadoes hit near Grand Ledge in Eaton County, Fowlerville in Livingston County and Kings Mill in Lapeer County. Several barns were destroyed.
1978: A waterspout moved inland off Lake Michigan just south of Little Sable Point, about 8 miles west of Shelby in Oceana County. Several cottages were damaged and Scenic Drive was blocked by falling trees. One person was injured when a picture window was blown in.
August 16
1938: A tornado struck between Oil City and Mount Pleasant in Isabella County. No one was injured but a home was torn apart with the roof carried about 100 yards.
1979: High pressure from Canada brings record cold temperatures with Muskegon falling to 36 degrees, the coldest ever recorded there in August. At Grand Rapids it falls to 40 degrees and at Lansing 39.
August 17
1988: It is the last hot day of the hot and dry summer of 1988. Record highs were set at Grand Rapids with 98 degrees, Lansing with 95, and Muskegon with 93. Thirteen of the first seventeen days of August had highs over 90 degrees at Grand Rapids, but none after today. The transition to cooler weather is marked by severe thunderstorms that bring large hail and damaging winds during the late afternoon and evening.
What a great below normal temp day today! Fantastic!
Average mean for today is 71, the mean for today was 71.
https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=grr&product=cli&issuedby=grr
GR average high is 81* degrees I believe it hit 80* degrees today so Larry is wrong sorry ..INDY ..
Wow, you don’t even have any idea how average temps work.
Good news for the heat trio on here I’m seeing some real warm to hot weather coming Tuesday into Wednesday next week great week to be on vacation not …Lets hope it’s blows over like some thoughts of 90’s this weekend in west Michigan.. Maybe heat index’s sit down around 100* degrees on Wednesday now that’s hot weather yuckk! Stay tuned ..INDY
Already up to 77 degrees at GR at 2pm. Another above average day?
Average days will become a lot easier now with average temps cooling a degree every 4 or 5 days the rest of the month just like the days getting shorter ..Love August! INDY
That statement makes no sense. No matter what day it may be, it is no easier or harder to beat the daily average than any other day of the year. That’s why they call it the daily average.
Currently 74* degrees out at thee YARDofBRICKS NE of GR as we get into the hottest part of the day now will we hit 80* degrees today? One thing for sure it’s beautiful outside my Fall fire smells wonderful loving this time of year! INDY ..
Currently 69* “cool” degrees out at thee YARDofBRICKS NE of GR one would think with the past comments it’s hot outside “warm weather fanatics” Rocky calls them! Short term great Sprites I’m having a early dead leaf Fall burn today I like to keep the grass showing in August…Fall smells away ….INDY
Well we can only go by the facts or what has happened, and like Slim posted last week, the only other stretch of warm days of this length was in 1931. I believe that record will be tied today, so I’m not sure I would call that a cool stretch. Just think, tomorrow may be the day that this streak moves all alone into first place. Brrrrrrr
On that record thought you better keep your air conditioning a crankin then ….Shuuu! INDY
It looks like another another warm and humid stretch begins this weekend, so enjoy the 3 day reprieve back to average temps. Bill Steffen has all but guaranteed August will be another warm month overall.
It must be August or any month of the year, because mookie is posting warm weather hype! Same thing every month form mookie!
Still no 90’s in sight despite the warm weather hype! I love it and keep the low to mid 80’s rocking! Great for golf, boating, swimming, biking, etc!
The last three days have been 86-88, FYI LOL
It must be August. Indy is trying to claim the fall colors are starting early this year, and poor Bill Steffen is posting snow pics on his blog. Same thing every August!
LOL !
It’s been a warm start to August after a warm July. Temps have been 80-88 everyday.
It has definitely been a great summer – not too hot and humid with a lot sun!
Funny this character posts right after Indy again… hmmm
With only 39 days to Fall yup Summer days are numbered and going fast with such a cool and wet start did we even have a normal long Summer dont feel like it this year it’s gone way to fast …Feels good out there today “cool” maybe lunch on the Grand have a Grand of a Wednesday …INDY
Just think, only 39 days and we are halfway to the first day of Spring already! Funny how that works out.
So far August 2019 has been warm and is not becoming dry. In the last 23 days Grand Rapids has only seen 0.68″ of rain. Also there have only been 10 thunderstorms so far this summer here at Grand Rapids and with how warm and humid it has been that is some what interesting as I would expect more thunderstorms but I guess there have not been that many cold fronts either but down south they get a lot of thunderstorms in the summer with few cold fronts. Here at this time it is cloudy here and the temperature is… Read more »
It is odd with the lack of storms in this area. What has changed? They’re all,around us, but not here. Something is out of whack when the North Pole is getting more lightening than us.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/lightning-struck-near-north-pole-why-strange/
It has been a long stretch of hot weather this year. Yesterday was another +7 day in a week we were supposed to be cool and wet. Interesting looking back at comments in early June when some thought we were heading for a record # of fewest 80 degree days, and instead it’s been the exact opposite. Have to wait for Slims stats, but I think since around June 20 there’s only been 2 or 3 days that missed 80, and they were only by a degree or two. With all the outlooks keeping us hot through at least the… Read more »
Going back to June 21st (that is 54 days) there have only been 6 days below 80 and the coolest of those days has been just 78° While it has been constantly very warm to hot there have not been very many very hot days this summer with the hottest just being 92. Over the last 30 years the mean hottest day here at Grand Rapids is 94 with a range of between 89 in 2014 to 104 in 2012. Last year the hottest day was 94 and in 2017 it was 96.
Slim
Grand Rapids has had some very stable weather in the last year. Just last fall into the winter and the start of spring Grand Rapids had 165 days in a row where the temperature did not get above 60. Most years have days in late October and early November where GR gets into the 60’s But last year the last day was on October 14 and the next 60 day was not until March 28th
Slim
What a summer! Keep it rocking and rolling! One minor heat wave and tons of great summer days and cool nights! Incredible!