We will be in an unsettled weather pattern for the next few days with chances of rain and storms through Friday. We have a pleasant 66° at 7am this morning. Yesterday we received .32 of an inch of rain then it cleared out and we had a muggy afternoon with temps in the mid 80s. 84° was our high in Otsego.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 11PM TONIGHT
Thunderstorms with frequent lightning, large hail, and strong winds are possible this afternoon and evening.
The SPC has us in the slight risk for storms today and tonight.
The main threats are damaging winds with downed tree limbs, large hail, and a brief/weak tornado. Torrential rainfall and localized flooding will also be possible.
Widespread rain will move into the area tomorrow night into Friday.
Weather History
September 8
1874: One of the longest heat waves in the month of September is underway with Lansing hitting 95 degrees. Lansing would have eight consecutive days with high temperatures in the 90s from September 7th to the 14th.
1951: A cool air mass settled into Lower Michigan bringing frost and freezing temperatures. Grand Rapids fell to a record low of 31 degrees.
September 9
1968: A tornado injures one person as it damages several businesses in Cedar Springs in Kent County. Another tornado damages a farm west of Monroe, Michigan.
2001: A tornado moved through Delta Township and into the western outskirts of Lansing causing heavy damage over an eight mile long path. There were minor injuries and several barns and other buildings were damaged or destroyed.
September 10
1917: High temperatures were only in the middle 50s as cool and cloudy conditions prevailed.
1931: A record high of 94 degrees was set at Grand Rapids, contributing to the warmest September on record there.
1943: The USS Grand Rapids is launched from Superior, Wisconsin. The weather in Grand Rapids, Michigan is cool with a low of 39 degrees. The ship was outfitted to take weather observations, but was damaged by a hurricane as it sailed towards Bermuda. It was repaired and provided vital weather observations in the North Atlantic through the end of World War Two.
1946: A weak tornado hit near Albion in Calhoun County around 730 AM, with damage limited to several downed trees.
September 11
1986: Clusters of thunderstorms moving along a stalled front bring record rains to Lower Michigan for the second straight day. Widespread rainfall amounts of 2 to 5 inches result in extreme flooding and contribute to making September 1986 the wettest month on record across the area.
2013: A severe thunderstorm with wind gusts of up to 80 mph brought down numerous trees and power lines in Albion, Michigan. Albion college was closed for several days due to all the wind damage and loss of power.
September 12
1986: From 6 to 12 inches of rain in three days resulted in record flooding from Muskegon to Saginaw. The flooding was worsened by the collapse of several dams. Ten people were killed and damage estimates approached half a billion dollars.
September 13
1939: A record breaking heat wave begins with the temperature hitting 95 degrees at Grand Rapids.
1952: Muskegon reaches 92 degrees for their third record high temperature in a row.
1962: A severe thunderstorm struck Lansing with wind gusts over 65 mph, producing light damage across the city.
2008: Five tornadoes strike southern Lower Michigan. Four of the tornadoes were spawned by one thunderstorm. A car dealership and a restaurant were damaged in Paw Paw and weak tornadoes damaged trees near Mattawan in Allegan County, Millers Corner in Kalamazoo County, and Brookfield in Eaton County. Several buildings had roof damage from a tornado that struck Plymouth in Wayne County.
September 14
1928: Tornadoes struck across Lower Michigan. A tornado hit in Mason County south of Scottville damaging at least three homes and injuring two people. The roof of one home was carried over a mile. Another tornado destroyed several barns, killing cattle about 2 miles south of Cedar Springs in Kent County. What may have been a tornado took part of the roof off a factory and warehouse in Grand Rapids.
2008: Ten days after the the remnants of Hurricane Gustav drenched southern Lower Michigan, the remnants of Hurricane Ike brought another round of heavy rain. From 3 to 6 inches of rain caused flooding, with some road washouts.
More warm weather hype goes up in smoke for next week! Incredible!
Is it just my crappy phone, or is NWS GR’s watch/warnings frozen and not updated in two hours?
The watch didn’t end till 11 PM.
No storms here, just some rain! We are below average for temps so far this month! Incredible!
We took cover in the bathroom downstairs. It just felt weird. And it was so dark.
There looks to be around 40,000 with out power in the Grand Rapids area as of 9 PM
Slim
We were out to dinner when the storm rolled thru. The tornado sirens were on but now that we are home I can not hear them here. It is raining just a little here at this time with a temperature of 71 the power in on here but not on at my sons house. The rain gauge has 0.52″ of rain so far.
Slim
It is so dark and now the wind is picking up and it is pouring out.
Dark to the north of me but I can see storms moving in here. Outdoor lights have came on because it is getting dark.
Enjoy…
Yup, I was just outside watching it to the NW. Wow is it ever stuffy out there. The wind has stopped and it’s dead quiet, waiting for the customary split in the line of storms…..
As far as ADA is concerned, once again, “not our weather”…never has been, never will be. I do hope everybody else enjoys their “interesting” weather today. Sadly, Ada residents will have to wait for pictures on the news…as always, and forever 🙁
Hmmm….Mr N, the worst of these storms seemed to plow right thru Ada!
Yes it looks like it did. Alot of people in Ada lost there power.
I was waiting in the driveway. Two 50 mph gusts pushed through…damage free. Sheets of rain arrived just behind the gusts and gave us 1.1 inches in 20 minutes. Raining too hard to see anything. Sirens were on, but after the initial gust, it was nothing but heavy rain :/ As far as I could tell, the warning was only doppler indicated? Loved hearing the sirens, but the “storm” was just generic.
Checked with several locations in Ada, and the power is on. Most of our lines are buried.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 11 pm for all of us.
Thanks – Updated the post for the third time today – also put up the radar
I like the radar feature. Thanks.
91° in Kalamazoo. That’s some serious southwest flow. Meanwhile, a winter weather advisory for the Beartooth Pass in Montana.
God bless the USA.
90’s also being reported at the NWS stations of Marshall and Lambertville as of 2pm. Wow!
Kalamazoo reached 90 yesterday as well, so that is 2 days in a row.
Slim
Heat index readings are now in the mid 90’s in many places, could top out near 100 later this afternoon! Heat advisory’s in mid September again?
Great Info MV im glad we can talk about other weather on here today I know it won’t change a few post that are back but I’m thinking this is more serious then the 80’s today in west Michigan I will be checking in for updates on here and my weather page is also rocking I’m getting a hold of Chuck Russel and possible going tracking this evening ..Stay tuned and stay safe INDY..
updated post to reflect NWS storm outlook
This is why it’s silly to say “summer” ended in August. September is generally very mild in Lower Michigan. Last September, GR had 13 days 80+, with one hitting 90. September 2017 was that crazy hot month where GR hit 92-95 degrees six days in a row in late September. September 2016 saw 9 days 80+, with one hitting 90. September 2015 saw 13 days 80+.
9/11.
Make an effort to enjoy the warmth….this is a rare occurance, as we exit a cold, wet, below average year. Unfortunately, the Southern Arctic will be true to it’s name and nature for 2020. Storms?…nonsense as usual. Have a good day.
West Michigan is in the slight risk area for serve storms now this afternoon I may go out on the road tracking if anything becomes severe…INDY..
In this weeks weather history is shows that there has been server weather in mid September in the past. But we did not have many storms this summer
Slim
Like Spring we can get some of the best storms in the Fall from the summer change over …I would not be surprised if somewhere in Michigan gets in a enhanced area this afternoon great set up about to take place …INDY
Wow hit 86 degrees yesterday (average high is 75). WOOD has 85-87 next week now. Summer is still going strong!
With TV8’s forecasted H/L of 87/68 for next Tuesday and Wednesday. While the record highs for the dates look to be safe the (92 for Tue and 94 for Wed) The record warmest minimum’s maybe in danger as the record for both dates is 69 that was set in 1942 for both dates. Also if it indeed reaches 87 (or better) on Wednesday the 18th it will be the warmest on that day since a 90 was recorded in 1955.
Slim
Dew points in some areas are up to 75! Did someone rewind us back to July again?? Crazy humid out.
http://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps/current/michigan/dew-points/
I noticed WOOD reported our average temp for yesterday was 75 – other sources which I use state the average is the low 70s for SW Michigan – I am wondering if these ‘averages’ for GR are from the airport….
The mean temperature at the major reporting stations yesterday were 75 at GRR, 74 at Muskegon, 77 at Kalamazoo and 76 at Holland. But for most of the locations the average H/L are in the mid 70’s with the lows in the mid 50’s. BTW our good friend Mookie must be sleeping as the high in Kalamazoo for yesterday was a reported 90° Averaged out for the month as a whole the reported average H/L for Grand Rapids is around 73/52 but that takes in the next 20 days when the average H/L drops from today’s 75/55 and drops to… Read more »
First off a short prayer in remembrance of 9/11/2001.
Yesterdays H/L at Grand Rapids was 86/63. Yesterday I recorded 0.18” of rain fall while at the airport they reported 0.21”. The overnight low here at my house was 61 while at GRR the official low was 64. The record high for today is 94 set in 1931 and the record low is 32 set in 1943. The warmest minimum was 71 in 1931 and the coldest maximum was 55 set 1940. Last year on this date the H/L was 76/52
slim