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Fall Weather in Grand Rapids Michigan, United States

Daily high temperatures decrease by 37°F, from 77°F to 40°F, rarely falling below 28°F or exceeding 86°F.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 29°F, from 58°F to 29°F, rarely falling below 18°F or exceeding 69°F.

For reference, on July 18, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Grand Rapids typically range from 63°F to 83°F, while on January 29, the coldest day of the year, they range from 18°F to 30°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Average High and Low Temperature in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°F60°F60°F70°F70°F80°F80°F90°F90°FSummerWinterSep 177°FSep 177°F58°F58°FNov 3040°FNov 3040°F29°F29°FOct 166°FOct 166°F48°F48°FNov 153°FNov 153°F38°F38°FNowNow
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average fall temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Average Hourly Temperature in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMSummerWinterNowNowfreezingvery coldcoldcoolcomfortablewarmcomfortable
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Dnipro, Ukraine (5,173 miles away) and Aleksandrovskoye, Russia (5,610 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Grand Rapids (view comparison).

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The fall in Grand Rapids experiences very rapidly increasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy increasing from 34% to 62%.

The clearest day of the fall is September 2, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 66% of the time.

For reference, on January 7, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 69%, while on August 6, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 67%.

Cloud Cover Categories in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Cloud Cover Categories in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%SummerWinterSep 166%Sep 166%Nov 3038%Nov 3038%Oct 160%Oct 160%Nov 150%Nov 150%NowNowclearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Grand Rapids, the chance of a wet day over the course of the fall is decreasing, starting the season at 30% and ending it at 25%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 33% on May 23, and its lowest chance is 17% on February 8.

Over the course of the fall in Grand Rapids, the chance of a day with only rain decreases from 30% to 16%, the chance of a day with mixed snow and rain increases from 0% to 4%, and the chance of a day with only snow increases from 0% to 6%.

Probability of Precipitation in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Probability of Precipitation in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov0%0%5%5%10%10%15%15%20%20%25%25%30%30%35%35%SummerWinterSep 2033%Sep 2033%Sep 130%Sep 130%Nov 3025%Nov 3025%Nov 126%Nov 126%NowNowsnowmixedrain
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the season and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during the fall in Grand Rapids is rapidly decreasing, starting the season at 3.1 inches, when it rarely exceeds 5.2 inches or falls below 1.2 inches, and ending the season at 1.8 inches, when it rarely exceeds 3.0 inches or falls below 0.6 inches.

The highest average 31-day accumulation is 3.3 inches on September 22.

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov0 in0 in1 in1 in2 in2 in3 in3 in4 in4 in5 in5 in6 in6 in7 in7 inSummerWinterSep 213.3 inSep 213.3 inSep 13.1 inSep 13.1 inNov 301.8 inNov 301.8 inNov 12.7 inNov 12.7 inNowNow
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day snowfall during the fall in Grand Rapids is rapidly increasing, starting the season at -0.0 inches, when it rarely exceeds 0.0 inches or falls below -0.0 inches, and ending the season at 4.0 inches, when it rarely exceeds 9.8 inches or falls below 0.1 inches.

Average Monthly Snowfall in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Average Monthly Snowfall in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov0 in0 in2 in2 in4 in4 in6 in6 in8 in8 in10 in10 in12 in12 in14 in14 inSummerWinterSep 1-0.0 inSep 1-0.0 inNov 304.0 inNov 304.0 inOct 10.0 inOct 10.0 inNov 10.6 inNov 10.6 inNowNow
The average snowfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average rainfall.

Over the course of the fall in Grand Rapids, the length of the day is very rapidly decreasing. From the start to the end of the season, the length of the day decreases by 3 hours, 53 minutes, implying an average daily decrease of 2 minutes, 35 seconds, and weekly decrease of 18 minutes, 7 seconds.

The shortest day of the fall is November 30, with 9 hours, 16 minutes of daylight and the longest day is September 1, with 13 hours, 9 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrSummerWinterSep 2212 hr, 11 minSep 2212 hr, 11 minnightnightdaydayNov 309 hr, 16 minNov 309 hr, 16 minNov 110 hr, 16 minNov 110 hr, 16 min
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The earliest sunrise of the fall in Grand Rapids is 7:07 AM on September 1 and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 11 minutes later at 8:19 AM on November 2.

The latest sunset is 8:16 PM on September 1 and the earliest sunset is 3 hours, 7 minutes earlier at 5:09 PM on November 30.

Daylight saving time (DST) ends at 1:00 AM on November 3, 2024, shifting sunrise and sunset to be an hour earlier.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 6:03 AM and sets 15 hours, 22 minutes later, at 9:25 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 8:10 AM and sets 9 hours, 0 minutes later, at 5:11 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMSummerWinter7:07 AM7:07 AMSep 18:16 PMSep 18:16 PM7:53 AM7:53 AMNov 305:09 PMNov 305:09 PM8:19 AM8:19 AMNov 26:32 PMNov 26:32 PM7:40 AM7:40 AMOct 17:22 PMOct 17:22 PMDSTNov 3DSTNov 3SolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunsetNowNow
The solar day in the fall. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray. The transitions to and from daylight saving time are indicated by the 'DST' labels.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMSummerWinter010202030600010203040NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth in the the fall of 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for the fall of 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMSummerWinterAug 47:14 AMAug 47:14 AMAug 192:26 PMAug 192:26 PMSep 29:56 PMSep 29:56 PMSep 1710:35 PMSep 1710:35 PMOct 22:50 PMOct 22:50 PMOct 177:27 AMOct 177:27 AMNov 18:48 AMNov 18:48 AMNov 154:29 PMNov 154:29 PMDec 11:22 AMDec 11:22 AMDec 154:02 AMDec 154:02 AMDec 305:28 PMDec 305:28 PM9:33 PM9:33 PM8:58 PM8:58 PM7:46 AM7:46 AM8:20 PM8:20 PM7:45 PM7:45 PM7:58 AM7:58 AM7:18 PM7:18 PM6:30 PM6:30 PM8:09 AM8:09 AM8:29 AM8:29 AM6:23 PM6:23 PM8:47 AM8:47 AM8:37 AM8:37 AM5:05 PM5:05 PM8:27 AM8:27 AM4:46 PM4:46 PM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Grand Rapids is very rapidly decreasing during the fall, falling from 21% to 0% over the course of the season.

For reference, on July 27, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 36% of the time, while on November 15, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%SummerWinterSep 121%Sep 121%Nov 300%Nov 300%Oct 13%Oct 13%Nov 10%Nov 10%NowNowoppressiveoppressivemuggymuggyhumidhumidcomfortablecomfortabledrydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Grand Rapids is rapidly increasing during the fall, increasing from 8.6 miles per hour to 11.9 miles per hour over the course of the season.

For reference, on January 12, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 12.6 miles per hour, while on August 2, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 7.8 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Average Wind Speed in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov0 mph0 mph5 mph5 mph10 mph10 mph15 mph15 mph20 mph20 mphSummerWinterSep 18.6 mphSep 18.6 mphNov 3011.9 mphNov 3011.9 mphOct 110.2 mphOct 110.2 mphNov 111.3 mphNov 111.3 mphNowNow
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The wind direction in Grand Rapids during the fall is predominantly out of the south from September 1 to October 1 and the west from October 1 to November 30.

Wind Direction in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Wind Direction in the Fall in Grand RapidsWSWSepOctNov0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%SummerWinterNowNowwestsoutheastnorth
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Grand Rapids is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Grand Rapids is very rapidly decreasing during the fall, falling by 24°F, from 69°F to 45°F, over the course of the season.

Average Water Temperature in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Average Water Temperature in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov35°F35°F40°F40°F45°F45°F50°F50°F55°F55°F60°F60°F65°F65°F70°F70°F75°F75°F80°F80°FSummerWinterSep 169°FSep 169°FNov 3045°FNov 3045°FOct 162°FOct 162°FNov 153°FNov 153°FNowNow
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Grand Rapids typically lasts for 5.5 months (167 days), from around April 28 to around October 12, rarely starting before April 10 or after May 17, and rarely ending before September 25 or after October 30.

During the fall in Grand Rapids, the chance that a given day is within the growing season is very rapidly decreasing falling from 100% to 0% over the course of the season.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Fall in Grand Rapidsgrowing seasonSepOctNov0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%SummerWinter100%Sep 1100%Sep 1Nov 300%Nov 300%79%Oct 179%Oct 1Nov 18%Nov 18%NowNowfrigidfreezingvery coldcoldcoolcomfortablewarmhot
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Grand Rapids are rapidly increasing during the fall, increasing by 556°F, from 2,371°F to 2,927°F, over the course of the season.

Growing Degree Days in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Growing Degree Days in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov2,200°F2,200°F2,400°F2,400°F2,600°F2,600°F2,800°F2,800°F3,000°F3,000°F3,200°F3,200°FSummerWinterSep 12,371°FSep 12,371°FNov 302,927°FNov 302,927°FOct 12,750°FOct 12,750°FNov 12,894°FNov 12,894°FNowNow
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the fall, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Grand Rapids is very rapidly decreasing during the fall, falling by 3.9 kWh, from 5.4 kWh to 1.5 kWh, over the course of the season.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Fall in Grand Rapids

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Fall in Grand RapidsSepOctNov0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWhSummerWinterSep 15.4 kWhSep 15.4 kWhNov 301.5 kWhNov 301.5 kWhOct 14.0 kWhOct 14.0 kWhNov 12.5 kWhNov 12.5 kWhNowNow
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Grand Rapids are 42.963 deg latitude, -85.668 deg longitude, and 636 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Grand Rapids contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 197 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 666 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (318 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (787 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Grand Rapids is covered by artificial surfaces (100%), within 10 miles by artificial surfaces (61%) and cropland (21%), and within 50 miles by cropland (44%) and trees (31%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Grand Rapids, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 4 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Grand Rapids.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Grand Rapids according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Grand Rapids is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Grand Rapids and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Grand Rapids and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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