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Southwest Lower Michigan Weather History
The Weather History for the Month of August
- 8/1/1886
- A tornado moves from northern Kalamazoo County into Barry County, damaging several farms in and near Hickory Corners.
- 8/1/1947
- 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.
- 8/1/1993
- A severe storm in Kent County produced grapefruit-sized hail in Cannon Township, northeast of Grand Rapids.
- 8/1/2002
- 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.
- 8/2/1927
- Morning low temperatures fall into the lower to mid 40s during one of the coolest Augusts on record. Daily record lows are set at Lansing with 40 degrees, Muskegon with 42 and Grand Rapids at 46.
- 8/2/1964
- Lansing hits 100 degrees and Grand Rapids 98 as a brutal four day heat wave continues.
- 8/3/1894
- After two record heat waves in July, record cool weather arrives. Lansing falls to 32 degrees for a rare summer freezing temperature.
- 8/3/1964
- Muskegon sets an August record and ties their all-time record high temperature at 99 degrees. The temperature hits 100 degrees at Grand Rapids, a record for the date.
- 8/4/1894
- The second record cool morning in a row at Lansing with 37 degrees. Grand Rapids also sets a record low for the date of 42 degrees.
- 8/4/1988
- A hot and dry summer continues with record highs of 96 degrees at Lansing and Grand Rapids and 92 degrees at Muskegon.
- 8/5/1947
- The temperature hits 93 at Muskegon and 100 degrees at Grand Rapids, where it will reach the century mark again the next day. A total of 17 days during the month had high temperatures of 90 or above at Grand Rapids. This is the hottest August on record for Lansing, Grand Rapids and Muskegon.
- 8/5/1968
- Tornadoes caused scattered damage across Lower Michigan. One tornado hit southeast of Grand Rapids, damaging several farms from Kentwood and into Ionia County. Another tornado damaged two houses southwest of Lansing. A third tornado damaged a boat and dock near Houghton Lake in Roscommon County.
- 8/6/1918
- Southwest Lower Michigan was in the grip of an extreme heat wave. Both Grand Rapids and Lansing set their highest temperature on record for the month of August at 102 degrees. At Lansing, it also ties the record for their all-time highest temperature.
- 8/6/1955
- A tornado injured one person in Hastings and another tornado caused minor damage near Norvell in Jackson County.
- 8/7/1900
- An eight day heat wave continues with temperatures in the lower to mid 90s. Adding to the discomfort are warm and muggy night time low temperatures that only fall to the mid and upper 70s.
- 8/7/1996
- Heavy rains of over 3 inches flooded roads and streams in Lansing and Grand Ledge.
- 8/8/1894
- Only four days after record cool weather in the 30s and 40s, the thermometer soars to record highs of 96 at Grand Rapids and 99 at Lansing.
- 8/8/1939
- A tornado outbreak across central and southern Lower Michigan resulted in two deaths and about 100 injuries. A violent tornado moved across the southeast part of Kalamazoo, destroying dozens of homes and killing two people. More homes were destroyed and six people were injured in northern Kent County, northeast of Cedar Springs.
- 8/8/1973
- A tornado injures five people and damages eight houses in Carson City, Montcalm County.
- 8/8/1977
- A tornado destroys a barn and trailer north of Marion in Osceola County.
- 8/9/1964
- Less than a week after hitting 100 degrees the temperature plummets to a record cold 38 degrees at Lansing and 43 at Grand Rapids. Muskegon went from 99 degrees on the 3rd to a low of 40 degrees this morning.
- 8/9/1994
- Cool weather prevails for several days with low humidity and high temperatures only in the 60s. Record cool maximum temperatures are observed at Grand Rapids and Lansing, where the high on this date is only 64 degrees.
- 8/10/1944
- The first half of August produces seven days in the 90s, peaking with a record high of 98 degrees at Grand Rapids and 95 at Muskegon on this date.
- 8/10/1971
- A tornado damages some cottages near Croton Dam in Newaygo County.
- 8/10/1972
- High pressure from Canada brings record low temperatures, including the 40 degrees at Lansing, 45 at Grand Rapids, and 47 at Muskegon.
- 8/11/1864
- Lansing hits 101 degrees. This was the all-time high temperature record for Lansing before being broken by a reading of 102 in 1894.
- 8/11/1941
- It was a soggy day as Grand Rapids and Muskegon set daily rainfall records of about an inch and a half.
- 8/11/2004
- 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.
- 8/12/1864
- 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
- 8/12/1979
- 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.
- 8/13/2002
- 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.
- 8/14/1987
- 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.
- 8/14/1988
- 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.
- 8/14/1995
- Lightning struck and killed a 33-year old man walking through his campsite in Coldbrook Park in Kalamazoo County.
- 8/15/1951
- Tornadoes hit near Grand Ledge in Eaton County, Fowlerville in Livingston County and Kings Mill in Lapeer County. Several barns were destroyed.
- 8/15/1978
- 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.
- 8/16/1938
- 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.
- 8/16/1979
- 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.
- 8/17/1988
- 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.
- 8/18/1943
- Autumn is in the air with record cool temperatures of 41 degrees at Grand Rapids and 43 degrees at Muskegon.
- 8/18/1955
- West Michigan is in the midst of another heat wave with Grand Rapids setting a record high of 97 degrees, helping this become the second hottest August on record there.
- 8/19/1939
- A total of 4.22 inches of rain falls for the wettest August day on record at Grand Rapids.
- 8/19/1977
- Cool air from Canada brings record lows of 37 degrees at Lansing and 43 degrees at Grand Rapids.
- 8/19/1996
- Severe thunderstorms produce damaging winds from Cadillac to Ionia. Montcalm County is one of the hardest hit places. Numerous trees are blown down from Greenville to Sheridan. In the town of Sheridan, there several reports of building damage mostly to roofs. A school in Greenville had a large plate glass window blown out.
- 8/20/1992
- Temperatures fall into the 30s in some rural areas during the coldest August on record at Grand Rapids. Record lows for the day include 42 degrees at Muskegon and 43 degrees at Grand Rapids.
- 8/20/2007
- Heavy rain falls across southern Lower Michigan for the second consecutive day. Grand Rapids and Lansing both set daily rainfall records and some places see over 4 inches of rain for the two day total on the 19th and 20th.
- 8/21/1958
- Heavy rains fall for the second day in a row, causing some flooding in the Grand Rapids area where the two day rain total from August 20-21 was over 4 inches.
- 8/21/1975
- A tornado blew down fruit trees in an orchard at Climax, in Kalamazoo County.
- 8/21/2003
- A tornado with top winds around 120 mph strikes eastern Ingham County injuring two people and destroying two homes. The damage path was 4 and a half miles long and up to one half mile wide.
- 8/22/1936
- The Dust Bowl summer of 1936 produced more record heat, with a high of 98 degrees at Grand Rapids and 94 at Lansing.
- 8/22/1964
- Tornadoes struck in Calhoun, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties. Three people were injured northeast of Battle Creek as a house and factory were damaged.
- 8/22/1966
- A tornado struck Bellevue in Eaton County, damaging a house, garage and two cars.
- 8/22/2001
- Severe weather and flooding hit Allegan, Ottawa and Kent Counties. Damaging winds hit Hudsonville, Plainwell, Dorr and Grand Rapids. Flooding occurred in eastern Van Buren and Kalamazoo Counties where three to five inches of rain is estimated to have fallen in less than 6 hours. Several streets were closed by flooding in Oshtemo flooded. Some businesses had to pump water out of their stores in Kalamazoo during the height of the storms.
- 8/23/2002
- Several inches of rain in less than three hours caused flash flooding in Kalamazoo, where two homes and two businesses sustained extensive damage. Waldo Stadium, on the campus of Western Michigan University, also had major flooding. At one point, three feet of standing water covered the entire football field. The flooding caused an estimated 200,000 dollars in damage.
- 8/24/1947
- The second long heat wave of the month comes to a close with record highs of 98 degrees at Grand Rapids and 96 degrees at Muskegon, contributing to the warmest August on record across West Michigan.
- 8/24/2006
- Up to baseball-sized hail fell from a severe storm at Grand Junction in Van Buren County.
- 8/25/1910
- A tornado injured four people near Scottville in Mason County. The tornado destroyed a cement block building, hurling the roof a half mile. Several other buildings were unroofed.
- 8/25/1940
- A stalled cold front brings clouds and very cool high temperatures. At Muskegon the high was only 56 degrees and Lansing was 57, both records for the coldest maximum temperatures for the month of August. The high of 60 degrees at Grand Rapids is only one degree higher than the record of 59 degrees set on August 26, 1987.
- 8/25/2004
- A strong downburst tore the roof off a section of the Maple Valley High School in Eaton County. The same storm produced a weak tornado minutes later that took the tin roof off a house in Vermontville.
- 8/26/2000
- Heavy rain and high winds produce scattered damage and some flooding. The roof of a bowling alley near Jackson was damaged by an apparent microburst. Roads were closed due to flooding across southern Kalamazoo County.
- 8/27/1948
- A late season heat wave with eight straight days in the 90s at Grand Rapids is underway. Record highs are set at Lansing with 98 degrees, Grand Rapids with 95 and Muskegon with 91.
- 8/27/1977
- Only two days after setting a record low of 43 degrees, the low temperature at Muskegon is a balmy 74 degrees, a record warm low temperature for the date.
- 8/27/2004
- A weak tornado struck near Sherman City in Isabella County. A mobile home was slightly damaged but no one was injured.
- 8/28/1982
- A strong cold front pushes through and temperatures tumble to 36 degrees at Lansing, setting a record low for the date.
- 8/28/1986
- There is an autumnal chill as morning lows fall to a record low of 41 at Grand Rapids and to 36 degrees at Lansing, tying the record low set only four years before.
- 8/29/1863
- A hard freeze ends the growing season at many interior locations. Lansing falls to 26 degrees, the coldest ever recorded in August there.
- 8/29/1982
- Cool air from Canada continues pouring in, with a record low of 38 degrees at Muskegon and 41 degrees at Grand Rapids.
- 8/30/1949
- A weak tornado struck just north of Grant in Newaygo County, causing some minor damage to small buildings and crops.
- 8/30/1976
- Grand Rapids falls to 39 degrees, the coldest ever recorded during the month of August. Scattered frost occurs in rural areas.
- 8/30/1984
- A tornado struck about 5 miles northeast of St. Johns in Clinton County, damaging two homes, but causing no injuries.
- 8/31/1953
- August ends with a late season heat wave that will continue into September. Record highs of 97 are set at Grand Rapids, 96 at Lansing and 91 at Muskegon.
- 8/31/1975
- Heavy rains on the last day of the month ensure that this will be the wettest August on record at Lansing and Muskegon. One to three inches of rain falls across the region, boosting the monthly total close to 10 inches.
- 8/31/1993
- Flash flooding hits Norton Shores in Muskegon County as slow moving thunderstorms dropped about an inch and a half of rain. Elsewhere, three people were struck by lightning in Otsego in Kalamazoo County. One suffered cardiac arrest but was not killed. The other two were treated for minor burns. The lightning strike occurred while two stranded motorists were huddled under an umbrella, watching the wrecker operator connect their vehicle. The lightning struck the umbrella and the motorists, then struck the wrecker operator, jolting him to the ground.
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