Issued by NWS Grand Rapids, MI
000 CXUS53 KGRR 062111 CCC CLMGRR CLIMATE REPORT...CORRECTED...ADDED TEXT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS, MI 859 AM EDT WED OCT 1 2008 ................................... ...THE GRAND RAPIDS MI CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2008... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1892 TO 2008 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 98 09/02/1913 09/16/1899 LOW 27 09/28/1991 HIGHEST 92 09/02 MM MM 91 09/24 09/05 LOWEST 44 09/16 MM MM 39 09/16 AVG. MAXIMUM 74.5 71.7 2.8 77.7 AVG. MINIMUM 54.9 51.0 3.9 54.5 MEAN 64.7 61.3 3.4 66.1 DAYS MAX >= 90 1 MM MM 2 DAYS MAX <= 32 0 MM MM 0 DAYS MIN <= 32 0 MM MM 0 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 MM MM 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) TOTALS 9.54 4.28 5.26 1.21 DAILY AVG. 0.32 0.14 0.18 0.04 DAYS >= .01 11 MM MM 8 DAYS >= .10 8 MM MM 4 DAYS >= .50 5 MM MM 0 DAYS >= 1.00 3 MM MM 0 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 3.84 09/04 TO 09/05 SNOWFALL (INCHES) TOTALS 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 SINCE 7/1 0.0 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 0 MM MM 0 DAYS >= 1.0 0 0.0 0.0 0 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 0 MM 0 MM 24 HR TOTAL 0.0 09/30 TO 09/30 DEGREE_DAYS HEATING TOTAL 62 159 -97 83 SINCE 7/1 66 193 -127 96 COOLING TOTAL 61 56 5 124 SINCE 1/1 630 608 22 915 ................................................................. WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 6.7 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 21/300 DATE 09/30 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 25/310 DATE 09/30 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) 64 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 11 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 12 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 7 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 71 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 2 MIXED PRECIP 0 HEAVY RAIN 8 RAIN 7 LIGHT RAIN 10 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 0 LIGHT SNOW 0 SLEET 0 FOG 18 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 1 HAZE 10 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. RECORD DATA 9/9 - DAILY RECORD RAINFALL OF 2.82 INCHES. OLD RECORD 1.06 IN 1965. 9.54 INCHES RAINFALL IS SECOND HIGHEST SEPTEMBER RAINFALL ON RECORD. 11.85 IN 1986 IS MOST EVER. 62 HDD IS 7TH LOWEST SEPTEMBER TOTAL ON RECORD. && SEPTEMBER 2008 WILL BE REMEMBERED AS A VERY WET MONTH FOR SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. AFTER A DRY MONTH OF AUGUST IN WHICH A GOOD PORTION OF THE AREA WAS CLASSIFIED AS ABNORMALLY DRY, OR THE BEGINNING STAGE OF DROUGHT, SEPTEMBER MARKED A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE BEGINNING ON THE 3RD OF THE MONTH. ON THE 3RD, A COLD FRONT MOVED INTO THE AREA, BRINGING A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA. THIS FRONT STALLED OUT JUST SOUTH OF THE STATE LATE ON THE 3RD, AND EARLY ON THE 4TH. THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE GUSTAV, WHICH CAME ASHORE ON THE LOUISIANA COAST ON THE MORNING OF THE 1ST, WEAKENED AND MOVED NORTH ALONG THE FRONT. HEAVY RAINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE REMNANT LOW AND RICH MOISTURE OCCURRED ACROSS LOWER MICHIGAN FROM THE MORNING OF THE 4TH, THROUGH THE PRE-DAWN HOURS OF THE 5TH. RAINFALL AMOUNTS RANGED FROM AN INCH OR LESS SOUTHEAST OF A BATTLE CREEK TO ALMA LINE, TO A WIDESPREAD 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAINFALL NORTHWEST OF A SOUTH HAVEN TO ALMA LINE. REMARKABLY, NO FLOODING OCCURRED WITH THIS EVENT, LIKELY DUE TO THE VERY DRY CONDITIONS FOR MOST OF JULY AND AUGUST. A FRONT MOVED INTO THE AREA DURING THE MORNING HOURS OF SUNDAY THE 7TH. THIS FRONT BROUGHT UP TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH OF RAINFALL OVER MOST OF THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE ALSO MOVED ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS ON THE 8TH. THIS WAVE BROUGHT A QUARTER OF AN INCH OR RAIN TO THE NORTHERN COUNTIES, WHILE AREAS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 96 SAW OVER AN INCH OF RAINFALL. THE MOST NOTABLE PERIOD OF WEATHER FOR SEPTEMBER CAME FROM FRIDAY NIGHT OF THE 12TH THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON OF THE 14TH. A COLD FRONT DROPPED DOWN INTO THE AREA DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY THE 12TH. THIS FRONT STALLED OUT JUST SOUTH OF THE AREA LATE ON THE 12TH. UPPER LEVEL JET ENERGY COMBINED WITH COPIOUS LOW-LEVEL ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO, RESULTING IN MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT OF THE 13TH. MOST LOCATIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 96 SAW TWO TO FOUR INCHES OF RAIN, WHILE SOME LOCAL AREAS SOUTH OF A HOLLAND TO LANSING LINE SAW SIX INCHES OF RAINFALL. THIS RAINFALL,COMBINED WITH THE HIGHER RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM THE PREVIOUS TWO WEEKS, BEGAN TO PRODUCE SOME AREAL FLOODING AND WASHOUTS OF ROADS BEGINNING DURING THE EVENING HOURS OF SATURDAY THE 13TH. IN ADDITION TO THE HEAVY RAINS ON THE 13TH, FOUR TORNADOES OCCURRED DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. THESE TORNADOES WERE THE ONLY SEVERE WEATHER THAT OCCURRED DURING THE MONTH. THE FIRST TORNADO OCCURRED IN THE CITY OF PAW PAW. DAMAGE OCCURRED TO A FEW BUSINESSES IN PAW PAW, ALONG WITH SOME TREES KNOCKED DOWN. THIS TORNADO WAS RATED EF-1 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE WITH ESTIMATED WINDS OF 90 MPH. EF-0 TORNADOES OCCURRED IN FAR EASTERN VAN BUREN COUNTY, AND FAR WESTERN KALAMAZOO COUNTY FROM THE SAME THUNDERSTORM. THE SAME THUNDERSTORM CONTINUED THROUGH EATON COUNTY WHERE IT DROPPED ONE MORE TORNADO JUST EAST OF OLIVET. THIS TORNADO WAS RATED EF-1, AND DID SOME DAMAGE TO A CORN FIELD, A FEW TREES, AND TO A COUPLE OF HOMES. THE FRONT REMAINED NEAR THE AREA THROUGH THE DAY OF SUNDAY THE 14TH. THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IKE WHICH CAME ASHORE OVER GALVESTON TEXAS, RACED NORTHEAST ALONG THE FRONT, AND RIGHT ACROSS SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN ON THE AFTERNOON OF THE 14TH. THIS BROUGHT ANOTHER 2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM HOLLAND TO ALMA, ON TOP OF THE HEAVY RAINFALL FROM THE DAY BEFORE. THE TOTAL RAINFALL FROM FRIDAY NIGHT THE 12TH THROUGH SUNDAY THE 14TH, WAS IN EXCESS OF 10 INCHES NEAR THE KALAMAZOO AND BATTLE CREEK AREAS. THIS HEAVY RAINFALL BROUGHT A GOOD DEAL OF FLOODING IN THE KALAMAZOO RIVER BASIN,AND TO PORTIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER BASIN TOWARD LANSING. THE WORST FLOODING OCCURRED NEAR COMSTOCK IN KALAMAZOO COUNTY WHERE THE RIVER ROSE TO 10.43 FEET, THE THIRD HIGHEST CREST ON RECORD. MANY HOMES AND BUSINESSES DOWNSTREAM WERE FLOODED. MANY ROADS IN THE CITY OF KALAMAZOO WERE CLOSED FOR A FEW DAYS DUE TO HIGH WATER. THERE WAS CONCERN THAT THE 105 YEAR OLD PLAINWELL DAM WAS GOING TO BE BREACHED. THE DAM HELD WITH NO BIG PROBLEMS. A SMALL DAM DID END UP BREAKING IN VAN BUREN COUNTY, BUT NO EFFECTS WERE FELT AS A RESULT. AFTER THE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF RAIN IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH, A MUCH NEEDED DRY PERIOD THEN OCCURRED FROM THE 16TH THROUGH 28TH. NO PRECIPITATION OCCURRED AS A STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BROUGHT WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS TO THE AREA. THIS ALLOWED AREA STREAMS AND RIVERS TO RECOVER FROM THE HEAVY RAINFALL. A FRONT THEN MOVED INTO THE AREA FOR THE 29TH AND 30TH TO FINISH OUT THE WET MONTH WITH UP TO AN ADDITIONAL INCH OF RAINFALL. MANY DAILY RECORDS FELL DURING THE TWO HEAVY RAINFALL EVENTS DURING THE MONTH. THIS COMBINED TO PRODUCE A COUPLE ALL TIME MONTHLY RECORDS. BATTLE CREEK WITH 12.00 INCHES TOTAL FOR THE MONTH, ENDED UP WITH THE HIGHEST MONTHLY PRECIPITATION TOTAL FOR ANY MONTH GOING BACK TO 1895. KALAMAZOO HAS LIMITED HISTORICAL DATA, BUT SEPTEMBER 2008 WAS LIKELY ONE OF THE HIGHEST MONTHS EVER FOR PRECIPITATION WITH 11.28 INCHES FOR THE MONTH. LANSING ENDED UP WITH THE SECOND HIGHEST SEPTEMBER PRECIPITATION WITH 8.22 INCHES, SECOND TO ONLY SEPTEMBER 1986 WITH 8.34 INCHES. GRAND RAPIDS ALSO HAD THE SECOND HIGHEST SEPTEMBER PRECIPITATION WITH 9.54 INCHES, SECOND ONLY TO 1986 WHEN 11.85 INCHES FELL. WHILE THE RAINFALL TOOK MOST OF THE HEADLINES FOR SEPTEMBER OF 2008 ACROSS SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN,SEPTEMBER 2008 WAS A WARMER THAN NORMAL MONTH. MUSKEGON, GRAND RAPIDS, AND LANSING ALL AVERAGED ABOVE 3 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH. MOST OF THE MONTH WAS ABOVE NORMAL, WITH THE ONLY COOL PORTION OF THE MONTH FROM THE 4TH THROUGH THE 10TH. THE PERIOD FROM THE 17TH THROUGH THE 29TH WAS THE WARMEST PART OF THE MONTH, WHERE TEMPERATURES AVERAGED AROUND 6 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE PERIOD. $$ NJJ MJK