The last several months have been mainly dry across West Michigan, and the rain deficit has been slowly growing.
Since May 1, the rain deficit for Grand Rapids is now greater than 3". We are behind 3.26" of rain from May 1 to this point in July, and that deficit will keep growing the longer the dry days continue.
July has been particularly dry, with only one third of an inch of recorded rainfall in Grand Rapids over 4 rain days.
Many other locations in West Michigan are faring the same way.
Little by little, the drought monitor updates each week have shown an expansion of the "Abnormally Dry" category (yellow), with more areas now included in the "Moderate" category (light tan).
Almost a quarter of the state is included in some level of drought, and most of that is in West Michigan. Ottawa, Allegan and southwest Kent County are faring the worst in West Michigan. Holland is one of the driest spots in Michigan, with only 1.27" of rain recorded since June 1. That is over a 3" deficit!
Our drought has also now been designated as a long term drought by the National Drought Mitigation Center, the entity that releases the weekly drought monitor. Long term drought status means that impacts felt are typically longer than 6 months. So the effects of the drought will likely continue to be felt later this year in some ways, even if our rain situation improves.
A system mid-week is our focus in the short term, and is the best shot we have at some much needed rain! This is one model's opinion on the rain totals through Thursday night.
These numbers will likely change as we get closer to Wednesday when the rain (and thunderstorms) begin. The smoke in the atmosphere is also another factor to consider too—the weather systems in June when the smoke was thick as well dried out considerably before reaching West Michigan and produced far less rain than was originally forecast. Hopefully the wildfire smoke currently in place doesn't do the same thing to this system, but there is that chance.
For the latest details on the weather in West Michigan, head to the FOX 17 Weather page.
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