It's the end of August, which means the end of meteorological summer! Meteorological summer runs from June 1 to August 31, and is different from the dates of the astronomical seasons in order to group data together in an easier way.
What started out as a chilly beginning of the summer in early June quickly flipped to hot and humid, which is how we stayed for the most part until mid-August.
The last week-plus of below average days is very unusual, especially for this late in the month! Average highs during the month of August vary from 82 degrees at the beginning of the month, to 79 degrees by the end of the month (now).
However, that heat and humidity was very real, especially during June and July! Each month, June, July and August, featured multiple 90 degree days for all of West Michigan. The tally for each city's 90 degree days this summer is:
- Grand Rapids 15: 5 in June, 6 in July, and 4 in August.
- Muskegon 9: 4 in June, 3 in July, and 2 in August
- Kalamazoo 11: 5 in June, 3 in July, and 3 in August
- Battle Creek 7: 4 in June, 1 in July, and 2 in August
- Holland 16: 5 in June, 6 in July, and 5 in August
Most of each month was dry as well, with most spots in West Michigan continuing to fall deeper into the rain deficit.
Holland had the driest start to summer on record (June and July), but made up some ground in August with several high rain amount days. Battle Creek has had an exceptionally rainy summer and is ahead of average by almost 6" just for the summer, and up 7" for the year. The rest of West Michigan is in desperate need of rain.
There were only 6 rain days in August in Grand Rapids, resulting in 1.63" of rain-less than half the amount of average rain for August. And of those 6 rain days, only 3 of them provided significant rain of more than a few hundredths of an inch.
We're ending summer on a dry and pleasant note, and the start of meteorological fall tomorrow promises similar weather. Our Labor Day forecast is fantastic, so enjoy!
However there are some pattern changes ahead...a cooldown mid-week and beyond, and some more significant chances for rain and thunderstorms too.
For the latest details on the weather in West Michigan, head to the FOX 17 Weather page.
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