High heat misses West Michigan this summer

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Back-to-school season is here which means the summer of 2024 is entering the final stretch.

Temperatures during the month of August start to decline as the average high falls from 82 degrees on the first down to 79 degrees moving into September. Likewise, the average low drops from 63 degrees to 58 degrees by the end of the month.

During meteorological summer, which begins June 1, Grand Rapids has only had three days with highs in the 90s.

You have to travel back to June 19 in the middle of a heat wave to find the last occasion where the mercury climbed into the 90s at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Typically there are a total of about 11 days in the calendar year where temperatures make it into the 90s in Grand Rapids. There’s still a bit of time to make up ground, but 90s become more of a rarity going into September and beyond.

An unsettled pattern will develop leading into the weekend delivering showers and thunderstorms to West Michigan.

Given the cloud cover present coupled with off-and-on rain chances, temperatures will take a step downward.

Seasonable summer weather is anticipated as we move through the middle of August with a range of forecast highs from the mid 70s to the low 80s.

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