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Southwest Lower Michigan Weather History
The Weather History for the Month of July
- 7/1/1999
- A weak tornado made intermittent touchdowns during the early afternoon in Newaygo County. A few tree limbs were downed, but otherwise there were no damage reports, as the tornado remained over rural areas.
- 7/2/1973
- A tornado struck two miles east of Leslie in Ingham County, damaging a car, mobile home and several farm buildings.
- 7/2/2001
- Frost and freezing temperatures were observed in some locations with a 29 degree temperature recorded in Grant, Michigan in Newaygo County. The 39 degrees at Muskegon was the coldest July temperature on record there.
- 7/3/1966
- A five day heat wave peaked with temperatures in the upper 90s. The high of 99 degrees set a daily record at Lansing, the second in a row following a high of 98 degrees on the 2nd.
- 7/4/1911
- The phrase Hot as the Fourth of July gains new meaning as temperatures soar to near 100 degrees, for Michigan's hottest Independence Day on record.
- 7/4/1969
- Nature's fireworks turn violent as severe thunderstorms form in the evening and drop several tornadoes across Lower Michigan. More than 60 people are injured, most of them from a tornado that hit Flat Rock in southern Wayne County. This tornado destroyed a tile factory, carrying sheet metal over a mile. Another tornado injured eleven people about four miles east of Jackson as it damaged a dozen mobile homes.
- 7/4/1974
- Tornadoes strike Lower Michigan during the early afternoon. One person is injured as a tornado damages several houses between Charlotte and Potterville in Eaton County. Tornadoes also damage barns and outbuildings in Huron and Tuscola Counties.
- 7/4/1977
- A widespread severe weather outbreak hit Lower Michigan with tornadoes and downbursts. Two people were injured and almost a million dollars damage was done. A tornado injured one person and destroyed two mobile homes and one barn near Maple Ridge in Arenac County. Another person was inured by a tornado at Otisville in Genesee County as four mobile homes were destroyed there. Two homes and a camper unit were heavily damaged as a tornado moved from southern Isabella County into northern Montcalm County, ending northeast of Vestaburg.
- 7/4/2003
- The July 4th holiday turns tragic as seven people drown in rip currents on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. A line of thunderstorms earlier in the day had produced strong winds across the middle of the lake, and the dangerous currents formed several hours later.
- 7/5/1921
- A record high of 100 degrees at Grand Rapids contributes to July 1921 becoming the warmest month on record there with a mean temperature of 79.8 degrees.
- 7/5/1921
- One person was injured by a tornado that destroyed three barns while passing north of Alma and Saint Louis in Gratiot County.
- 7/5/1972
- Temperatures fell to record lows in the upper 30s and lower 40s across the region. The 37 degrees at Lansing was the coldest July reading of the 20th century there.
- 7/5/1994
- Thunderstorms with hail and heavy rain pound areas of West Michigan. The 3.56 inches of rain at Grand Rapids makes this the wettest July day on record.
- 7/6/1983
- Cool high pressure settles over Lower Michigan and temperatures fall to record lows. The 41 degrees at Grand Rapids is the lowest ever recorded during the month of July for the Furniture City.
- 7/7/1988
- Lower Michigan is in the midst of another heat wave as the hot and dry summer of 1988 continues. Temperatures peak at 100 degrees on the 6th at Lansing andGrand Rapids, followed by a record high of 98 degrees on the 7th at Grand Rapids.
- 7/7/1991
- Tornadoes strike across southern Lower Michigan. A tornado damaged about 20 homes near Highland in Oakland County. More damage occurred near Okemos in Ingham County and a home and some outbuildings were damaged as a tornado moved northeast of Rockford in Kent County. A tornado also briefly touched down northwest of Plainwell in Allegan County but did no damage.
- 7/8/1885
- A tornado damages several farms in and near Allegan, Michigan.
- 7/8/1936
- The greatest heat wave on record gets underway across Michigan. Grand Rapids will see high temperatures at or above 100 degrees on six of the next seven days, including an all-time record high of 108 degrees on the 13th. Lansing will peak at 101 degrees on the 14th.
- 7/8/1951
- Severe thunderstorms strike West Michigan with dozens of trees knocked down. Some of the trees block roads and damage cars and buildings
- 7/8/1984
- Record low temperatures are set as cool air from Canada dominates the Great Lakes region. Grand Rapids falls to 46 degrees and Muskegon to 45.
- 7/9/1956
- Cloudy and cool weather prevails with a record low maximum temperature of 64 degrees at Grand Rapids.
- 7/10/1895
- Record cold temperatures occur on the second consecutive day at Lansing. The low of 39 degrees follows a low of 42 degrees on July 9th.
- 7/10/1897
- A ten day heat wave, one of the most intense on record, peaked with highs near 100 degrees across the region. At Lansing, it was the third straight day with highs of 100 degrees, unprecedented in the record books.
- 7/10/1996
- Cool weather prevails with Muskegon setting a record low temperature of 44 degrees.
- 7/11/1945
- Muskegon falls to 40 degrees, setting a record low for the date. This is also the second coldest temperature for the month of July at Muskegon, just a degree warmer than the 39 degrees on July 2, 2001.
- 7/11/1957
- Thunderstorms struck West Michigan with heavy rain and high winds. There was widespread flooding of streets, with some road washouts. The 3.19 inches of rain at Lansing made this the wettest July day of the 20th century there. Many trees were blown over by thunderstorm winds and lightning struck a TV antenna in Grand Rapids, burning out the transmission line.
- 7/11/1967
- A tornado damaged a trailer, garage and silo about two miles west of Ferry in Oceana County.
- 7/12/1966
- A tornado destroyed a barn at Coopersville in Ottawa County.
- 7/12/1978
- Cool weather prevails with low temperatures in the 40s. Muskegon falls to 45 degrees, for a record low for the date.
- 7/13/1912
- A tornado strikes downtown Grand Rapids at 4:10 AM. Several buildings are damaged and nine people are injured.
- 7/13/1936
- The Dust Bowl summer of 1936 produces the hottest day on record across the state of Michigan. Grand Rapids hits 108 degrees, its highest temperature ever, with Mio, Michigan setting the state record of 112 degrees. At Grand Rapids, six out of the seven days from July 8th to July 14th were above 100 degrees.
- 7/13/1964
- Clouds, rain and a cool northeast wind holds the high temperatures in the upper 50s to mid 60s across West Michigan. The high of 59 degrees at Grand Rapids is only the second time in over a hundred years of record that the temperature did not reach 60 degrees on a July day.
- 7/14/1950
- Cold air filters into Michigan, setting records lows of 45 degrees at Grand Rapids and 41 degrees at Muskegon.
- 7/14/1974
- Several tornadoes struck Lower Michigan during the afternoon, causing some structural damage but no injuries. In Mecosta County, a house and some farm buildings were damaged about four miles east of Sylvester. Apartment buildings were damaged near Plymouth, in Wayne County. Seven houses were destroyed and 50 damaged near Davison in Genesee County.
- 7/14/1995
- An intense three day heat wave claims hundreds of lives across the Midwest, mostly elderly people in the greater Chicago area. The low temperature of 81 degrees at Grand Rapids on this day is the warmest low temperature ever recorded there. Temperatures in the upper 90s in the afternoon combined with high humidity to produce heat index readings near 120 degrees, some of the highest ever recorded.
- 7/15/1863
- It was a frosty morning with temperatures falling to the 30s across much of Michigan. The low of 31 degrees is the coldest ever recorded in July at Lansing by a full five degrees.
- 7/15/1961
- A heavy downpour hits Grand Rapids, with 0.41 inches of rain falling in 15 minutes.
- 7/15/1985
- A tornado touched down in the northeast section of Lansing and damaged 18 buildings as it moved to three miles north of Webberville in Ingham County.
- 7/15/1987
- It was the coolest July day on record at Grand Rapids, with a high of only 58 degrees. Clouds and rain kept temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s during the day after morning lows in the mid 40s.
- 7/16/1945
- The second morning of record cool weather in five days produces low temperatures of 42 degrees at Grand Rapids and Muskegon.
- 7/16/1986
- A plane carrying executives from Holland to Muskegon crashed while landing in heavy fog. The pilot had descended below approach minimums and the plane struck two trees about two miles short of the runway. Three people were killed, including the pilot. Three others were injured.
- 7/17/2006
- A widespread severe weather outbreak struck West Michigan. Dozens of trees were downed by winds gusting between 60 and 70 mph. A camper was injured by a falling tree at a campground in Dorr, Allegan County. Two inch diameter hail fell at Marne in Ottawa County.
- 7/18/1952
- Thunderstorms with heavy downpours resulted in flooding of basements and some streets across West Michigan.
- 7/19/1894
- Temperatures reach 100 degrees across much of Michigan for the second day in a row. At Lansing, the high of 102 degrees ties the record for the all time hottest temperature.
- 7/20/1954
- Severe thunderstorms produced golf ball-sized hail and damaging winds across West Michigan. In Kent, Ionia and Montcalm Counties, dozens of trees were felled and some crops were wiped out by the hail and high winds.
- 7/20/2003
- A tornado with peak winds around 100 mph struck near Battle Creek. It left an 8 mile long damage path and tore a garage from a house. Three outbuildings and a barn were also destroyed. Hundreds of trees were uprooted or broken off. The tornado width was nearly one half mile wide where the most severe damage occurred.
- 7/21/1934
- A brutal heat wave peaks during the Dust Bowl summer with a high of 104 degrees at Grand Rapids, second only to the 106 and 108 degree readings from July 1936. Temperatures reach the mid and upper 90s even right along the Lake Michigan shore.
- 7/21/1983
- One person drowned on the Kalamazoo River as a tornado struck Saugatuck then crossed the river, generating a large wave of water.
- 7/22/1953
- Severe thunderstorms struck during the late evening as a cold front moved through. High winds downed numerous trees, and several streets in Grand Rapids were blocked by falling trees.
- 7/23/1883
- A half mile wide violent tornado killed three people as it moved southeast from near Eaton Rapids to south of Leslie.
- 7/23/1999
- Severe weather struck central Lower Michigan, with two weak tornadoes touching down in rural areas. One struck near Mount Pleasant, but only lasted a few seconds and produced no damage. Another brief touchdown was reported during the early evening hours in Tustin, in Osceola County, where it produced minor damage to one home.
- 7/24/1934
- Extreme heat continues for the fifth consecutive day with Lansing equaling their all time high temperature of 102 degrees. Grand Rapids hits 103 degrees, part of a string of five out of six days at or above 100 degrees there.
- 7/25/1943
- The USS Muskegon, named after the Michigan city, is launched from Superior, Wisconsin on a day with scattered showers and high temperature of 86 degrees at Muskegon, Michigan. The ship saw duty in World War Two, escorting convoys across the Atlantic. The ship also took weather observations and served as as radio and light ship for trans-atlantic flights until after the end of the war.
- 7/25/2005
- An extended round of severe weather from the evening of July 25th into the morning of the 26th produced widespread wind damage across Lower Michigan. A tornado struck three miles west of Baldwin and downed hundreds of trees at a campground. Fortunately, most of the campers had left just hours earlier, and there were no injuries.
- 7/26/1896
- A tornado struck a few miles northeast of Battle Creek, seriously injuring one person as it destroyed a farm home and barns in Pennfield Township, Calhoun County.
- 7/26/1973
- A tornado damaged a mobile home and some farm wagons two miles southeast of Clare, Michigan.
- 7/26/1977
- Canadian high pressure brings record cold temperatures of 46 degrees at Muskegon and 47 degrees at Grand Rapids.
- 7/27/1894
- The temperature hit 100 degrees at Lansing during the second record heat wave of the month, the first of which occurred a week earlier, when Lansing set its all time record of 102 degrees
- 7/27/1955
- Temperatures reached the upper 90s for the second day in a row across West Michigan in one of the hottest months on record. At Grand Rapids, 15 days had high temperatures above 90 degrees during July, 1955.
- 7/27/2002
- A severe weather outbreak produces tornado and downburst wind damage. A tornado with top winds around 80 mph touched down about one mile east of Augusta in Kalamazoo County. The tornado passed through Fort Custer in western Calhoun County, about one mile northwest of the Battle Creek airport. The damage path was approximately 800 yards wide and path length was 3 miles long. Extensive tree damage occurred in the Fort Custer area and the roof was blown off a firing range shelter. After the tornado ended, downburst damage continued for several more miles in Calhoun County. A severe thunderstorm struck a campground and mobile home park along Swan Lake in southern Allegan County. Trees were blown down onto mobile homes and small boats were blown out of the lake. Two minor injuries occurred. Top winds with the downburst were estimated at 70 mph.
- 7/28/1959
- A steady rain brought relief from drought conditions across West Michigan. Dry weather began in April, resulting in water rationing in Grand Rapids by the middle of July.
- 7/28/1976
- A tornado injures five people northwest of Grand Rapids as it damages a warehouse.
- 7/29/1916
- Temperatures soared to record highs as a ten day heat wave reached its peak. The 102 degrees at Lansing would tie the record for the hottest day ever there. Grand Rapids hit 103 degrees as part of a record string of four consecutive days of 100 degrees or higher. Even the Lake Michigan shore was baking, with Muskegon hitting 95 degrees.
- 7/30/1913
- Offshore winds negate the cooling effect of Lake Michigan as Muskegon hits 99 degrees for its all-time record high temperature. Temperatures are actually a bit lower inland as Grand Rapids is 96 degrees and Lansing 92 degrees.
- 7/30/1960
- Two squall lines preceding a cold front produced widespread severe weather with high winds and hail. Severe crop damage from hail occurred across much of Kent County.
- 7/31/1883
- Very heavy rains during June and July cause the Grand River to rise to unusually high summer levels. Lumber companies use the high water to float logs to a log boom upstream of Grand Rapids. The logs broke loose and crashed into the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railroad bridge creating a jam estimated at thirty-feet deep and seven-miles long. Sections of Grand Rapids were flooded by backwater. Eventually the bridge gave way and several bridges downstream were damaged by the cascading logs.
- 7/31/1917
- A heat wave produced record highs in the upper 90s as July ended, with Grand Rapids hitting 98 degrees and Lansing 96 degrees. There were also record high minimum temperatures of 79 degrees at Grand Rapids and 74 at Lansing.
- 7/31/2005
- Hot and dry weather during the month leads to drought conditions along the Lake Michigan coast. Agricultural production was hampered as the dry conditions continue into August.
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