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Southwest Lower Michigan Weather History
The Weather History for the Month of September
- 9/1/1953
- A heat wave that began in late August continued into September, with record highs of 97 degrees at Grand Rapids and 96 at Lansing. The 95 degrees at Muskegon tied the record high for the month there.
- 9/2/1894
- Lansing hits 99 degrees, setting their record high for the month of September.
- 9/2/1913
- Grand Rapids hits 98 degrees tying their record high for the month of September.
- 9/3/1946
- There was an early taste of autumn as Grand Rapids falls to 32 degrees for their earliest freeze on record.
- 9/4/1965
- A tornado struck east of Grand Haven, destroying a barn, silo and factory. Debris was carried over two miles.
- 9/5/1997
- Cool weather prevailed with scattered frost and a record low of 34 degrees at Lansing.
- 9/6/1881
- Temperatures hit the mid and upper 90s as a four day heat wave peaked across Lower Michigan. Lansing reached 97 degrees for their second record high in a row, both records that still stand.
- 9/7/1960
- A three day heat wave peaked with record highs of 96 at Grand Rapids and 94 at Lansing.
- 9/7/2001
- Severe thunderstorms produced widespread wind damage. About a dozen trees and several telephone poles were blown down in Saranac in Ionia County.
- 9/8/1874
- 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.
- 9/8/1951
- A cool air mass settled into Lower Michigan bringing frost and freezing temperatures. Grand Rapids fell to a record low of 31 degrees.
- 9/9/1968
- 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.
- 9/9/2001
- 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.
- 9/10/1917
- High temperatures were only in the middle 50s as cool and cloudy conditions prevailed.
- 9/10/1931
- A record high of 94 degrees was set at Grand Rapids, contributing to the warmest September on record there.
- 9/10/1943
- 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.
- 9/10/1946
- A weak tornado hit near Albion in Calhoun County around 730 AM, with damage limited to several downed trees.
- 9/11/1986
- 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.
- 9/12/1986
- 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.
- 9/13/1939
- A record breaking heat wave begins with the temperature hitting 95 degrees at Grand Rapids.
- 9/13/1952
- Muskegon reaches 92 degrees for their third record high temperature in a row.
- 9/13/1962
- A severe thunderstorm struck Lansing with wind gusts over 65 mph, producing light damage across the city.
- 9/14/1928
- 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.
- 9/15/1939
- A four day heat wave peaks across western Michigan with Grand Rapids hitting 97 degrees and Lansing 94 degrees.
- 9/16/1886
- A swarm of tornadoes hits southern Lower Michigan from late morning into the early afternoon. At least ten separate tornadoes struck, causing damage in Cass, Livingston, Kalamazoo, Eaton, and Clinton Counties. One person was killed and another injured in a tornado that hit Brighton.
- 9/16/1899
- Grand Rapids records a high of 98 degrees, setting the record for its hottest September temperature, which would be tied on September 2, 1913.
- 9/17/1972
- A severe thunderstorm produces two tornadoes. The first damages a car six miles northeast of Kalamazoo. The second damages a house three miles south of Middleville.
- 9/17/1973
- It was a record cool day as clouds and rain held high temperatures in the 40s across western Michigan. The high of 47 degrees this afternoon at Grand Rapids would be followed by a record low of 35 degrees the next morning.
- 9/17/1977
- Two tornadoes struck Lower Michigan. One person was injured in the town of Flushing in Genesee County. Thirty homes and a library sustained heavy damage there. Another tornado hit near Westphalia in Clinton County, damaging a house and a garage.
- 9/18/1918
- A tornado destroyed a large barn about 5 miles southeast of Grand Haven in Ottawa County, and carried the timbers a half mile
- 9/19/1997
- A line of severe thunderstorms producing wind gusts to 70 mph downed trees and power lines from Allegan County through Jackson County. Around 10,000 customers lost power. A boy in Hastings was injured by a lightning strike.
- 9/20/1957
- Thunderstorms with heavy rain of up to 2 inches flooded streets and viaducts in Grand Rapids.
- 9/20/1968
- A tornado hits a rural area about five miles south of Lansing at 2:15 in the morning, damaging two barns and a shed.
- 9/21/1863
- Lansing records a low temperature of 19 degrees, the coldest on record for the month of September.
- 9/21/1956
- Intense lightning from thunderstorms is responsible for 11 house fires in Ottawa and Kent Counties, accounting for thousands of dollars in damage.
- 9/21/1967
- A small tornado struck just north of Lansing at 10:45 in the morning and destroyed a garage.
- 9/22/1952
- Hail covered the ground like snow in Cascade Township, near Grand Rapids.
- 9/22/1961
- A tornado hit two miles north of Marne. One person was injured and three buildings were heavily damaged.
- 9/23/2006
- Small tornadoes hit Caledonia in Kent County and Muir in Montcalm County. The Caledonia tornado did some roof damage to a storage facility and a barn. The Muir tornado caused no structural damage but took down some tree limbs.
- 9/24/1950
- Smoke from Canadian forest fires gave the sun an eerie bluish cast and darkened the sky across western Michigan.
- 9/25/1961
- Widespread, heavy rain causes some flooding across western Michigan. Record daily rainfall totals occur at Muskegon, Lansing and Grand Rapids. The 3.52 inches of rain at Grand Rapids is a record total for any day in September.
- 9/26/1951
- A tornado killed one person and injured three others near Bitely in Newaygo County. The tornado destroyed a tavern, carrying steel beams from the roof about 70 yards.
- 9/26/1965
- Wet snow mixes in with rain across parts of western Michigan for a very early taste of winter.
- 9/26/1998
- The temperature hits a record high of 89 degrees at both Grand Rapids and Lansing. The warm weather fuels a severe weather outbreak across the region as a cold front arrives during the late afternoon. A severe thunderstorm produced softball-sized hail in Clare County which smashed skylights, dented automobiles, and damaged roofs and antennas. Damage was estimated at up to half a million dollars.
- 9/27/1942
- Snowflakes fly across Lower Michigan as temperatures fall to the lower 30s and only rise into the 40s during the day.
- 9/28/1991
- A record freeze hits western Michigan. Grand Rapids falls to 27 degrees, setting record lows for the date and month. Muskegon also hits 27 degrees, setting a record for that date and tying the monthly low. Lansing plunges to 22 degrees, tying the record low for the date set in 1893.
- 9/29/1953
- Temperatures soared to the 90s across western Michigan. Grand Rapids hit 93 degrees and Muskegon 92 degrees, both record highs and records for the latest date of a 90 degree reading.
- 9/29/1967
- Wet snowflakes fell at Grand Rapids and Lansing. The high of 42 degrees at Lansing is the coldest high temperature for the month of September.
- 9/29/1986
- A severe weather outbreak produces high winds, large hail and two tornadoes across Lower Michigan. One person was injured in Van Buren County as a tornado hit near Mattawan. Six houses were destroyed by a tornado near Rankin in Genesee County.
- 9/29/2006
- Several waterspouts were observed on Lake Michigan. One was about 5 miles offshore of Holland, while another was sighted just offshore of Saugatuck. This waterspout approached the coast and may have come onshore, but no damage was noted.
- 9/30/1899
- September ended on a very cool note with a record low of 21 degrees at Lansing and afternoon highs only in the 40s. The high of 44 degrees at Muskegon made for the coldest September maximum temperature on record there.
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