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Author: Patricia Murphy

An unquenchable thirst for knowledge about the weather, an observer of world-wide weather events, and an addicted fan of the Weather Channel on TV. Some occurrences from our not too distant past have left me horrified to this day- such as the possibly avoidable tragedy of the damage and death trailing behind Katrina, where human error combined with Mother Nature for sheer terror, the unspeakable destructive Tsunamis in Japan and Thailand, scenes and sounds of which I can hardly bear to see or hear. But I do see and hear it all because I am enthralled, fascinated, by weather driven happenings every bit as much as I am captivated by the clouds in our ever-changing sky. No impressive credentials, no list of meaningful letters trailing after my name, this is merely me, just another weather junky having my say about it all.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019-South West Michigan-Much Cooler Today

Tuesday, July 23, 2019-South West Michigan-Much Cooler Today

Currently 65 with a WNW wind 5 mph. Feels like 65 degrees. Dew Point 51, Humidity 59%, Barometer 30.05, Visibility 10 mi., Sunrise 6:23 am, Sunset 9:13 pm. Partly cloudy today with a slight chance of a stray shower or thunderstorm. High 78. NW winds 10 -15 mph.

Mostly clear overnight. Low 54. NW winds 10 -15 mph.

Actually feels a bit chilly this morning compared to what we’ve been dealing with. I know right now, after just coming out from underneath a smothering heat wave, I’m going to be sounding like a loner, but I have to admit I prefer it to be a little warmer than this. I know. I know. Just a few days ago, I was talking about not being able to breath in the 90 degrees. So call me fussy, but if I had my druthers, I’d have it always be about 78-80 degrees. Nothing lower, nothing much higher. Since my having the power to adjust the temperature isn’t in the future, I have to deal with whatever Mother Nature sees fit to provide. I’m just saying…under 70…too cool for me.

Monday, July 22, 2019-South West Michigan-Blessedly Cooler

Monday, July 22, 2019-South West Michigan-Blessedly Cooler

Currently 63 with an average wind from the N of 9 mph. Feels like 62 degrees. Dew Point 51, Humidity 65%, Barometer 30.01 & rising, Visibility 10 mi., Sunrise 6:22 am, Sunset 9:14 pm. Lots of sunshine today. High 77. N winds 10 -15 mph.

Clear overnight skies. Low 54. NNW winds 10 -15 mph.

Can hardly express how refreshing this cooler air is. To be able to step outside and actually breath. Very grateful to that big dip in the Jet Stream bringing welcome cooler temperatures and allowing us to enjoy open windows and little breezes wandering the rooms once again. I see by the big national map, not everyone has been blessed with this heat relief yet, but it’s on the way. Love Summer. Hate the extreme heat we’ve been experiencing lately.

Sunday, July 21, 2019-South West Michigan-Heat Wave Broke Here, Much Cooler

Sunday, July 21, 2019-South West Michigan-Heat Wave Broke Here, Much Cooler

Currently 70 with a NE wind of 6 mph. Feels like 70 degrees. Dew Point 64, Humidity 61%, Barometer 29.95, Visibility 10 mi., Sunrise 6:21 am, Sunset 9:15 pm. Partly to mostly cloudy. A chance of a stray shower or thunderstorm. High 84. Light and variable winds.

Partly cloudy overnight skies. Low near 60. N winds 5 – 10 mph.

One minute it was almost impossible to breath outside due to the heat and humidity and the next minute, under a dark and ugly sky, it was dangerous to be out there trying to breath at all.

Yesterday afternoon’s storm that broke our heat wave came in with a fury and a determination to do damage, and it did. Nothing much here in my little backyard, but more to the West, Jenison and Hudsonville…they got hit bad. Trees and power lines down. Damaged houses. It cut a path through Rockford, leaving branches and trees littering driveways and roads and by the time it was done, the temperature dropped 20 degrees in less than an hour. It left much cooler air in place, as well as a huge amount of clean-up. The cooler, breathable air was – and is – much appreciated. The enormous amount of work to clean up the results of getting that break from the heat, isn’t. The folks from the power company are working, as they always do, as hard as they can to restore things. Thank goodness for those people.

Saturday, July 20, 2019-South West Michigan-Hot, Severe Storms Possible

Saturday, July 20, 2019-South West Michigan-Hot, Severe Storms Possible

Currently 76 with an average wind from the WSW of 10 mph. Feels like 76 degrees. Dew Point 67, Humidity 82%, Barometer 29.81 & rising, Visibility 10 mi., Sunrise 6:20am, Sunset 9:15 pm. Mix of sun and clouds with a 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Some storms could be severe. High 90. WSW winds 10 -20mph.

60% chance of overnight scattered thunderstorms. A few may be severe. WNW winds 10 – 15 mph

A good friend in Louisiana tells me how unbearable their summers are with the smothering heat and humidity, and I can totally understand it during a heat wave like this. Thank God, we don’t get them up here in Michigan all that often. When we do, it’s miserable. Right now, it’s miserable.

A good chance of wind damage isn’t out of the picture with some of the scattered thunderstorms expected. Plenty of power outages already as the demand for electricity is more than the availability it would seem. Bad enough having this stifling, humid, hot weather but to end up with power outages, and for some, that doesn’t only mean basics like lights, but water, too. Can you imagine the misery in this heat wave – not only no A/C, no fans, no lights, no WATER. This is a mean time to just get through for many of us. I’m lucky. My power is still on, but there’s no guarantee that will remain so.

Friday, July 19, 2019-South West Michigan-Heat Plus Chance Of Server T-Storms

Friday, July 19, 2019-South West Michigan-Heat Plus Chance Of Server T-Storms

Currently 81 with a SW wind of 12 mph. Feels like 88 degrees. Dew Point 75, Humidity 84%, Barometer 29.78 & rising, Visibility 10 mi., Sunrise 6:19 am, Sunset 9;16 pm. 80% chance of morning thunderstorms, cloudy afternoon. High 88-90. WSW winds 10 -20 mph

Cloudy overnight with the chance of a stray thunderstorm. Low 78. SW winds 10-15 mph.

Already a sweltering feel to the day and we’re just beginning. I fear if the thunderstorms do roll through they are going to only add to the misery. That darned flat Jet Stream laying over the  country like a big hot blanket is keeping us all in the heat indexes we aren’t loving. I do like hot weather, I do NOT like this stuff. And the thing is, today I have so much to do, so many places I have to be, work that needs to be done. I’m going to be more than ready for a cool shower by the end of this day. Thanks Mother Nature.

Thursday, July 18, 2019-South West Michigan-Excessive Heat Warning In Effect

Thursday, July 18, 2019-South West Michigan-Excessive Heat Warning In Effect

Currently 76 degrees with an average wind from the S of 6 mph. Feels like 76 degrees. Dew Point 71, Humidity  87%, Barometer 29.87 & falling, Visibility 10 mi., Sunrise 6:18 am, Sunset 9:17 pm. Mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms. High 88. SW winds 10 -20mph.

60% chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Warm and humid. Low around 75. SW winds 10 – 15 mph.

Lots of weather warnings in effect – well, two of them, anyway. Excessive Heat and Bad Air. What a super combination of stuff to stay out of. These are the days we feel really, seriously bad for those with no A/C. And there are plenty of them. The next handful of days are going to be wicked hot. By tomorrow over 225 million people are go0ing to be baking under oppressive heat. Not a good situation at all. I’m praying that everyone is paying attention to the suggestions for survival, because they’ll be needing them.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019-South West Michigan-Some Clouds, Lots Of Sun, Lots Of Heat

Wednesday, July 17, 2019-South West Michigan-Some Clouds, Lots Of Sun, Lots Of Heat

Currently 80 with an ENE wind of 8 mph. Feels like 83. Dew Point 70, Barometer 29.91 & rising, Visibility 9 mi., Sunrise 6:17 am, Sunset 9:18 pm. A mix of sun and clouds. High 87. NE winds 5 – 10 mph.

Partly cloudy with a low around 67. ESE winds 5 -10 mph.

Warming up with only a few clouds traveling through.  There is still the chance of some rain coming along tomorrow – right now a 50% chance – but other than that, no precipitation in sight for the coming week. Nothing but heat and humidity. A real summer week ahead.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019-South West Michigan-Big Heat Arrives Tomorrow

Tuesday, July 16, 2019-South West Michigan-Big Heat Arrives Tomorrow

Temperature 74 with an average wind from the SW of 9 mph. Feels like 74 degrees. Dew Point 67, Humidity 78%, Barometer 29.95 & rising, Visibility 10 mi., Sunrise 6:16 am, Sunset 9:19 pm. Cloudy with the possibility of a stray shower or thunderstorm. High 84. WSW winds 10 -15 mph.

Cloudy with the possibility of a stray shower or thunderstorm cropping up. Low 69. S winds 5 – 10 mph.

Today just humid with lots of clouds. Possible to get some rain, we could use it, but none so far. Tomorrow the heat ramps up heading  well into the 90s and it will turn smothering around here.  Going to be a sticky week until possibly the weekend where the temperatures may drop back into the 80s. By then, 80 anything will seem so much better.

Monday, July 15, 2019-South West Michigan-Here Comes A Hot, Humid Week

Monday, July 15, 2019-South West Michigan-Here Comes A Hot, Humid Week

Currently 75 with an average wind from the SSW of 7 mph. Feels like 75 degrees. Dew Point 66, Humidity 73%, Barometer 30.04, Visibility 10 mi., Sunrise 6:15 am, Sunset 9:19 pm. Mostly cloudy becoming partly cloudy. There is a possibility of a stray shower or thunderstorm. High 88. SW winds 10 -20 mph.

Mostly clear. Low 71. SW winds 10 – 15 mph.

It does sound as if tomorrow might be a tad on the cooler side, with the chance of some t-storms coming through, but if it is a bit less hot, it’s going to be the last one for the week. Looks like a miserable week coming along – especially for those with no A/C. Summer is with us – with a vengeance.

Sunday, July 14, 2019-South West Michigan-Happy To Have Summer Weather

Sunday, July 14, 2019-South West Michigan-Happy To Have Summer Weather

Currently 74 with an average wind from the ENE of 3 mph. Feels like 74 degrees. Dew Point 51, Humidity 46%, Barometer 30.14 & rising, Visibility 10 mi., Sunrise 6:14 am, Sunset 9:20 pm. Bright and sunny. High 84. Light and variable winds.\

Generally clear but with the possibility of a stray shower or thunderstorm passing through. Low 64. Light and variable winds.

With the heat forecast for this coming week, they’ve tossed in the possibility of some rain pushing through most days. If the temperatures get as high as noted, and rain does come along, the best it’s going to do is make things humid and miserable. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Either way, it’s going to be a hot one. Whether it’s a hot and humid week, or just a hot one, will be up to Mother Nature. I’m  happy for the heat, but won’t be thrilled with sky high dew points and humidity numbers.