Between the dates of September 21st and September 26th, 2017, a six day stretch of high temperatures 91 degrees or hotter occurred. This was a significant late September heat wave to impact mid-Michigan, which interestingly occurred late in the season and was both hotter and longer than any other stretch of weather during the true summer months of 2017. 90 degrees did occur in both June and July, but not in August that year. For reference, the normal high temperature here locally in Mt. Pleasant during late September is around 70 degrees. This means that temperatures were 20+ degrees above normal for 6 consecutive days, which, as you might have guessed, put us in record breaking heat territory. The observed highs in order from September 21st through September 26th were as follows: 92°, 96°, 96°, 95°, 91°, 93°. Nearly each of these values each day set a new record high for the date, braking previous records ranging from 86° to 94°. On Saturday, September 23rd, 2017, there was a point in time when Mt. Pleasant was sitting at what would end up being its high temperature for the day of 96°, which made it the hottest temperature being observed at that moment in the entire United States. Yes, Mt. Pleasant was not just the hottest location in Michigan, but the hottest location across the U.S.! Central Michigan football was facing off against Miami that day at Kelly Shorts Stadium and the result was a 31-14 loss. It was a long, hot, and difficult day, especially for the Marching Chips. Certainly a heatwave that will be remembered for a long time.
Strong Mid-Week Cold Front Introduces Fall
We’ll start off this week with just a little bit of summer left in the tank, but nothing like 2017. Mostly Sunny skies are in store today with high temperatures in the upper-70s. On Tuesday, the clouds will gradually increase ahead of an incoming shortwave and eventually a cold front that will move through on Wednesday. High temperatures will still be in at least the 70s if not near 80 if we see enough sun Tuesday and Wednesday. The best chance for Showers and Thunderstorms comes on Wednesday as a strong cold front moves through. Severe weather does not appear likely, but a low risk for isolated stronger storm potential may exist.
After the cold front moves through on Wednesday, the door opens to true autumn weather. Considering the Autumn equinox is on Thursday at 9:04PM, it’s practically perfect timing. In reality, the Equinox has nothing to do with what the weather will be like, but it is interesting how it times out so well this year. North winds combined with clouds will make it difficult to warm up on Thursday, so a big temperature change between Wednesday and Thursday is expected. We’ll reach the lower-60s at best, although if the clouds hold strong enough, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get stuck in the upper-50s.
This next part of the forecast is where we need to watch very closely this week. Thursday night will be the coolest night of the week as clouds clear out. Temperatures are anticipated to drop into the lower-40s for sure, but some areas could drop into the upper-30s, especially here across interior central MI. We can’t know for sure if conditions will be right for the development of frost just yet, but it is certainly a possibility and a risk we need to watch closely. These cold temperatures Friday morning will give us a hole to dig out of but a sunny day will help as afternoon highs recover into the mid-60s. It will continue to feel like fall with typical late September weather in place this weekend as highs reach the mid-60s to near 70. Most of the weekend will be dry, but with the heating of the day on Saturday, a few isolated light rain showers could develop.
Mt. Pleasant Almanac for This Week:
Almanac Information is a way to look at normal and record high and low temperatures for this time of year. The normal temperatures are based on the 30-year average high and low for that date between 1991 and 2020. For example, if you take the high temperature for every September 19th between 1991 and 2020 and calculate the average of all 30 values, the result would be 73. Therefore, the normal high for today is 73°. Record high and low temperature data goes back to 1895. Sunrise and sunset data is also provided. All information is valid for Mount Pleasant.
September 19th
Normal High/Low: 73°/50°
Record High: 90° 1948
Record Low: 29° 1901
Sunrise: 7:23AM
Sunset: 7:42PM
September 20th
Normal High/Low: 72°/50°
Record High: 90° 2002
Record Low: 31° 1956
Sunrise: 7:24AM
Sunset: 7:53PM
September 21st
Normal High/Low: 72°/49°
Record High: 92° 2017
Record Low: 30° 1962
Sunrise: 7:25AM
Sunset: 7:40PM
September 22nd
Normal High/Low: 72°/49°
Record High: 96° 2017
Record Low: 27° 1974
Sunrise: 7:26AM
Sunset: 7:38PM
September 23rd
Normal High/Low: 71°/49°
Record High: 96° 2017
Record Low: 27° 1974
Sunrise: 7:28AM
Sunset: 7:36PM
September 24th
Normal High/Low: 71°/48°
Record High: 95° 2017
Record Low: 29° 1976
Sunrise: 7:29AM
Sunset: 7:33PM
September 25th
Normal High/Low: 70°/48°
Record High: 91° 2017
Record Low: 29° 1976
Sunrise: 7:30AM
Sunset: 7:31PM
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-Weather Forecast by CMU Student Forecaster Isaac Cleland
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