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• Fourth of July weekend delivers a summertime sizzle, chance of rain Saturday

  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Independence Day weekend will bring about warm summertime weather plus a good chance of rain late Saturday. FRIDAY: MOSTLY SUNNY AND HOT Following a few comfortable days to start off the month of July with highs in the low to mid-80s plus limited humidity, there will be a noticeable jump in dew points, bringing back a sticky feeling to the air. Temperatures will climb to 90 degrees under a mostly sunny sky. Humidity will make it feel like the mid-90s in the afternoon. There is a 20% chance of rain in the middle of the day Friday, but dry conditions are anticipated for evening fireworks shows. List: Fourth of July fireworks, parades in West Michigan SATURDAY: SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY Events planned for Saturday will need to be prepared for very hot conditions. Highs will hit the low 90s with humidity, making it feel like the mid- to upper 90s at times. A band of showers and storms will move into West Michigan toward evening Saturday, so watch for some lightning flashes amid the firework flashes and booms. Sign up for the Storm Team 8 daily forecast newsletter SUNDAY: QUIET TO CLOSE OUT THE WEEKEND The chance of rain should dissipate into Sunday with partly cloudy skies and temperatures slipping into seasonable territory. Highs will be in the mid- to upper 80s with humidity lingering another day.

• Severe thunderstorm watch issued for parts of West Michigan

  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for parts of West Michigan as storms move through the area. The watch is in effect through 9 p.m. for counties southeast of Kent County and Grand Rapids. Inside woodtv.com: Radar The area with the greatest chance of seeing severe weather is to the southeast of Grand Rapids, where the National Weather Services' Storm Prediction Center has assigned a marginal (level 1 out of 5) to slight (level 2 out of 5) risk. Thunderstorms are expected to be triggered by a cold front clipping through over the next several hours. People should expect heavy downpours, frequent lightning, plus some isolated instances of hail and damaging winds. The chance will be at its greatest late in the afternoon before storms exit to the eastern side of Lower Michigan this evening. Download the free Storm Team 8 weather app A severe thunderstorm watch is issued when the ingredients are there for the formation of thunderstorms that may be capable of producing damage, including 1 inch or larger hail and wind gusts exceeding 60 mph. If a severe thunderstorm warning is issued for where you are, seek shelter on the lowest level of a sturdy building until the storm passes. Stay with Storm Team 8 for more on this developing situation.

• Beach and Boating forecast: June 26, 2025

  EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — After a four day stretch in the 90s, the heat wave is officially over in West Michigan. That being said, West Michigan is still in for a warm and sunny weekend. 90s MAKE A RETURN The weekend will start out quite active as showers and thunderstorms roll through Friday morning. Behind that system, slightly cooler temperatures are in store. High temperatures on Saturday will reach the upper 70s at the lakeshore and mid 80s further inland. It will be an excellent day for Holland's Pride Festival at Kollen Park! A surge of heat arrives Sunday with highs in the upper 80s at the lakeshore and near 90 inland. Sunday is expected to be the warmest day of the week! WIND AND WAVES The beaches were busy this week thanks to the abundance of sunshine and heat. However, the lake was quite dangerous at times as Beach Hazard Statements were in effect on Monday and Tuesday. Luckily, quiet water is expected this weekend. Winds will come in at 5 to 10 miles per hour both Saturday and Sunday, initially from the northwest and turning to the southwest. Waves are not expected to exceed a foot. WATER TEMPERATURES Thanks to the streak of 90s this week, water temperatures were able to surge into the 70s for most local beaches. These readings are 5 to 10 degrees above average for this time of the year and typically temperatures we see in early August! Further inland, Reed's Lake in Grand Rapids reported a lake temperature of 82 degrees Thursday afternoon! HIGH UV INDEX The clear skies will pave the way for a very high UV index this weekend. Both Saturday and Sunday are forecasted to be near a 9 or 10. When this high of a UV index is present, sunburn can happen in 20 minutes or less. Those who burn easily should avoid direct sunlight in the peak heating afternoon hours, typically between noon and 3 p.m. The Lake Michigan Beach and Boating forecast is sponsored by West Michigan Toyota Dealers and the Ludington Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

• Watch: Tornado nearly flips Florida home with woman still inside

  LARGO, Fla. (WFLA) – Residents of Florida's Pinellas County are cleaning up after severe thunderstorms rocked the area on Wednesday night, along with a tornado that touched down in Largo. Leaders with the National Weather Service said radar and video confirmed the tornado on Thursday morning, but folks in the area didn't need much confirmation after already having a home nearly flipped over by the intense weather. “There was a lady in there, and I guess when the house went up, it stayed up for a second and came back down," said Martha Hicks, a resident of Ranchero Village who captured the frightening moment on her Ring camera. Florida renter rammed SUV into landlord's home, deputies say Hicks said she later spoke with the woman living inside the home. "She says she rolled around a few times and had debris on top of her, but when the house finally landed she managed to get herself out,” Hicks said. The woman who lived in the house "rolled around a few times" before it slammed back down, according to a neighbor. (Martha Hicks) On Thursday, mangled pieces of mobile homes could be seen scattered throughout Bay Ranch, one of the Largo communities that took the brunt of the storms. The National Weather Service said someone would be in the area to survey the damage on Thursday. "It was just like a bomb going off. This thing just blew up," Rick Gilkes told Nexstar's WFLA, referring to the storms. Gilkes said he was inside when the severe weather arrived. "I saw everything starting to twirl. I went out in my Florida room to the side, I looked up and I saw the twister," he explained. Neighborhood resident Steve Carlsen was outside when the storm moved through the area. "There was no dirt in this funnel cloud, it was just a wall of spiral," he said. "Within just a couple of minutes, it was right at my house." When will the 'heat dome' crack? In other parts of Pinellas County, families experienced high winds, heavy rain and hail. "It felt like a hurricane had just started right on top of us, and we knew there was a bad weather coming, but we thought nothing like this, just a regular thunderstorm," one resident said. But owners at Bay Ranch said the damage is worse than any hurricane. "Everything is gone, I have nothing left," Gilkes said. Leaders with the Red Cross are assisting individuals affected by the storms. Leaders with Largo Fire Rescue say several homes have severe damage. As of Thursday, the Largo Police Department said there were thankfully no reported injuries as a result of Wednesday night's storms.

• Rounds of storms and cooler temperatures inbound

  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Those in search of saving money on their air conditioning bill are in luck: Cooler temperatures will return toward the middle of the week thanks to a cold front. STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE While this week will not be a washout by any means, rain and storm chances are apparent nearly every day. A flare-up of downpours and storms continues into Wednesday evening. Inside woodtv.com: Radar The Storm Prediction Center is keeping a marginal risk (level 1 of 5) in place south of I-96 through Wednesday and nudging northward Thursday. With all of the warm, moist air in place across the region, a few strong storms may be able to pop. Any showers and storms that move into West Michigan will be quite robust in terms of producing rain. Most models are indicating a half inch to an inch of rain by the end of the week. COOLER AIR TO FOLLOW Following 4 days in the 90s, temperatures will slip into more seasonable territory starting Wednesday with highs likely to stick in the middle to upper 80s closing in on the weekend. The average high during this time of year is in the low 80s for most West Michigan cities. The latest 8-14 day temperature outlook has near normal temperatures hanging around through the 4th of July. Sign up for the Storm Team 8 daily forecast newsletter Temperatures are, however, still expected to remain above average into July. Keep in mind, this will be on a much smaller scale with highs in the low to mid-80s rather than 90s.

• Some homeless prefer the shade over cooling centers

  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Mel Trotter Ministries says 450 people spent some time in its cooling center over this past weekend as "feels-like" temperatures hovered around 100. Carl Towsley wasn't among them, even though the homeless man spends his nights at the Mel Trotter shelter. "They have what?" he asked after a reporter told him about the cooling center. "I did not know that, no." But even now that he knows, he said, he has no intention of using it. Heat and humidity lingers in West Michigan On Monday, the out-of-work truck driver lay in the shade of a linden tree. He was among dozens shading themselves at Heartside Park. "It's not that bad," he said. "You figure 90 or 100 degrees sounds really hot, but if you're not directly out in the sun, it's not too bad out here in the shade under the tree." It helps, he said, that volunteers stop by with bottled water. Brian Keith Herring, who has been staying at Mel Trotter for several months, also said he knew nothing about the cooling center. He spent part of Monday on a bench in the shade at Heartside Park. "It's pretty hot," he said. He said he plans on taking advantage of the cooling center now that he knows about it. Carl Towsley seeks shade in Heartside Park in Grand Rapids amid hot weather on June 23, 2025. (Ken Kolker/WOOD TV8) Brian Herring sits near a splash pad amid not weather in Grand Rapids on June 23, 2025. (Ken Kolker/WOOD TV8) The Grand Rapids Fire Department says it has responded to three heat-related medical calls involving the homeless since the heat wave started on Friday. It says those numbers would likely be higher without the cooling centers. "The city of Grand Rapids, we take it very seriously," Battalion Chief of EMS Mark Fankhauser said. "All of our citizens matter. Our Homeless Outreach Team is out there daily. We assure that we're checking on all of our citizens, including our homeless population, our impoverished population. We are out there seeking them to make sure they are actually being cared for as well as any other citizens." Hot temperatures cause problems for drivers, road crews A man drinks from a bottle of water while waiting to enter Mel Trotter Ministries in Grand Rapids amid hot weather on June 23, 2025. The Mel Trotter cooling center has room for 150 people. It is among eight centers in the city that are open during the hottest parts of the day. Mel Trotter is also sending out teams to places where the homeless gather, including encampments, to encourage them to use the cooling center. "'Hey, it's going to be over 100 today, it's going to feel over 100 today. We have a place where you can go if you'd like to,'" Mel Trotter CEO Chris Palusky said his crews tell people. "And we're actually collecting people off the streets and bringing them into our cooling center." For those who would rather stay where they are, the mission is leaving water and wet towels, he said. "We can ask people if they want to come in, but sometimes people don't want that. Sometimes people want to deal with things the best they can," Palusky said. People who are homeless seek shade at Heartside Park in Grand Rapids amid hot weather on June 23, 2025. A bottle of water rests on a picnic table amid hot weather in Grand Rapids on June 23, 2025. HEAT EXHAUSTION AND COOLING CENTERS Dr. Asha Shajahan, a primary care provider at Corewell Health, said people who are homeless are among the groups most vulnerable to illness during the heath. She also said older people and children may struggle to regulate their temperature. "Offering a cool place to stay or posting about cooling zones that are available ... libraries, malls — these are places where people can stay cool," Shajahan said. "And also just offering water. If you see someone on the street and they're alone, bottled water can go a long way." She said people may "overestimate their ability to handle the heat." "We need to really be careful about heat exhaustion," Shajahan said. "The things you want to look out for is that if you're profusely sweating, if you're excessively sweating, that's a sign that you are already kind of in a dehydrated mode. And also if you're thirsty: Thirsty means that you're already depleted and that you should drink more water. And then, electrolyte water is very important for those that are sweating because you're losing electrolytes through your sweat." Other symptoms of heat exhaustion include fatigue, nausea and headaches. In more severe cases of heat stroke, when the body cannot cool itself, people may be confused and slur their speech. Those people need immediate medical attention. How to stay safe during heat waves and heat stroke warning signs A number of cooling centers are available around the Grand Rapids area: Information on cooling centers around Ottawa County can be found on this list. Kalamazoo County has also released a list of cooling centers. The city of Kalamazoo is opening several hydrants daily between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. to help residents beat the heat and reminded people they can cool off at splash pads. For information on Calhoun County cooling centers, see this Facebook post. The Salvation Army says all of its sites around West Michigan serve as cooling centers during regular business hours.

• Staying safe amid dangerous conditions along lakeshore

  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A pair of drownings this weekend as the heat pushed crowds to beaches all over West Michigan is prompting an alarm on water safety. On Saturday, a 6-year-old drowned at Millennium Park in Walker, the Kent County Sheriff's Office said. That evening, a man drowned in a Battle Creek late, the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office said. Neither of their names have been released. According to the National Weather Service, Lake Michigan beach hazards remain in effect through Sunday evening. SAFETY TIPS FOR THE BEACH AND POOL Officials are reminding people to stay vigilant and practice water safety. The American Red Cross said most drownings happening silently, with no cry for help. They can happen in less than a minute. Never swim alone, whether in a lake or pool, experts say. Deputies: 6-year-old drowns at Millennium Park Drowning is a leading cause of death for children in the United States. The Red Cross recommends life jackets for young children or inexperienced swimmers, and the Grand Rapids Fire Department stresses the importance of getting a life jacket that is approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Red Cross also recommends kids take a water safety class. "There's research that shows that participating in some swim lessons, in water safety classes can reduce the risk of drownings in 1- to 4-year-olds by 88%," David Olejarz, the Red Cross Regional communications director, said. "So we encourage everyone to learn how to swim to take some water safety classes, and to make good choices in and around the water." Man drowns in lake in Battle Creek, deputies say The Red Cross says distraction is one of the leading contributors to child drownings. They say even in shallow water, children should be closely supervised. On Saturday, South Haven Area Emergency Services said they responded to 15 incidents of community wide. That included a report of a child missing in the water. While that report was a false alarm, SHAES warned to always keep an eye on your children. GRFD warns that open water brings hidden dangers like cold shock and strong currents. Officials advise swimmers to stay in designated areas. They reminded swimmers that in an emergency, you should "reach or throw, don't go." Lake Michigan Summer Beach Guide "Have an object that you can throw in the water if somebody's having trouble and to direct them to grab onto that object. Maybe it's a rope," Olejarz said. "We do not encourage you to go in after them because you yourself could become a victim." PAY ATTENTION TO WATER CONDITIONS Without lifeguards at state parks, officials with Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources say it's up to you to pay attention to water conditions, as easily indicated by the flag system: Double red flags mean entering the water is an absolute no-go.  A single red flag isn't as restrictive, but it does indicate high hazards, including strong currents. Yellow flag, expect moderate currents and possible high waves. The green flag indicates calm conditions, but still use caution in the water.  Tips for staying cool and healthy as West Michigan heats up The Michigan DNR urges beachgoers never to swim alone and always to keep a close watch over children. They recommend remaining out of the water and off the pier during hazardous swimming conditions. They also encourage you to bring Coast Guard-approved life jackets, especially for those young, inexperienced swimmers.  Information and resources are provided on the DNR webpage. You can also find water current conditions and real-time hazard updates on Michigan lakes, both big and small, on the NWS Michigan beach safety page.

• Planetary waves linked to wild summer weather have tripled since 1950, study finds

  WASHINGTON (AP) — Climate change has tripled the frequency of atmospheric wave events linked to extreme summer weather in the last 75 years and that may explain why long-range computer forecasts keep underestimating the surge in killer heat waves, droughts and floods, a new study says. In the 1950s, Earth averaged about one extreme weather-inducing planetary wave event a summer, but now it is getting about three per summer, according to a study in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Planetary waves are connected to 2021's deadly and unprecedented Pacific Northwest heat wave, the 2010 Russian heatwave and Pakistan flooding and the 2003 killer European heatwave, the study said. “If you’re trying to visualize the planetary waves in the northern hemisphere, the easiest way to visualize them is on the weather map to look at the waviness in the jet stream as depicted on the weather map,” said study co-author Michael Mann, a University of Pennsylvania climate scientist. Planetary waves flow across Earth all the time, but sometimes they get amplified, becoming stronger, and the jet stream gets wavier with bigger hills and valleys, Mann said. It's called quasi-resonant amplification or QRA. This essentially means the wave gets stuck for weeks on end, locked in place. As a result, some places get seemingly endless rain while others endure oppressive heat with no relief. “A classic pattern would be like a high pressure out west (in the United States) and a low pressure back East and in summer 2018, that’s exactly what we had,” Mann said. “We had that configuration locked in place for like a month. So they (in the West) got the heat, the drought and the wildfires. We (in the East) got the excessive rainfall.” “It's deep and it's persistent,” Mann said. “You accumulate the rain for days on end or the ground is getting baked for days on end.” The study finds this is happening more often because of human-caused climate change, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels, specifically because the Arctic warms three to four times faster than the rest of the world. That means the temperature difference between the tropics and the Arctic is now much smaller than it used to be and that weakens the jet streams and the waves, making them more likely to get locked in place, Mann said. “This study shines a light on yet another way human activities are disrupting the climate system that will come back to bite us all with more unprecedented and destructive summer weather events,” said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center who wasn't involved in the research. “Wave resonance does appear to be one reason for worsening summer extremes. On top of general warming and increased evaporation, it piles on an intermittent fluctuation in the jet stream that keeps weather systems from moving eastward as they normally would, making persistent heat, drought, and heavy rains more likely,” Francis said. This is different than Francis' research on the jet stream and the polar vortex that induces winter extremes, said Mann. There's also a natural connection. After an El Nino, a natural warming of the central Pacific that alters weather patterns worldwide, the next summer tends to be prone to more of these amplified QRA waves that become locked in place, Mann said. And since the summer of 2024 featured an El Nino, this summer will likely be more prone to this type of stuck jet stream, according to Mann. While scientists have long predicted that as the world warms there will be more extremes, the increase has been much higher than what was expected, especially by computer model simulations, Mann and Francis said. That's because the models “are not capturing this one vital mechanism,” Mann said. Unless society stops pumping more greenhouse gases in the air, “we can expect multiple factors to worsen summer extremes,” Francis said. “Heat waves will last longer, grow larger and get hotter. Worsening droughts will destroy more agriculture.”

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Chief Meteorologist Ellen Bacca (and husband Mark) welcomed their first child over the weekend, with the birth of Piper Sunny. Check out these sweet pictures<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hurricane Lee continues to slowly track toward the United States. Click here for the latest on intensity and path<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday brought plenty of sunshine and calm conditions. Bill’s Blog dives into what is currently the calmest day of 2023.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WEATHER WEAR<\/strong>
Rain Jacket
Umbrella<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TODAY<\/strong>
Widespread Rain Developing
Pockets of Locally Heavy Rain
HIGH:<\/strong> 67
LOW:<\/strong> 55
WINDS: SE 5-10 mph<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SUNRISE<\/strong> 7:17 a.m.
SUNSET<\/strong> 7:59 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TODAY<\/strong> Take along the rain jacket and umbrella as you head out the door, as widespread rain will be rolling through the area today. The most concentrated rain will prevail during the morning hours, with the rain becoming more scattered in nature late in the day. Amounts will range from 0.10-0.50+ and will likely be localized. Otherwise, expect overcast skies and highs in the mid-upper 60s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TUESDAY<\/strong> – WEDNESDAY<\/strong> Scattered showers continue for most of Tuesday before tapering off Wednesday morning. Cooler temperatures arrive with highs in the low to mid-60s. It will be breezy as winds come from the north at 10-20 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THURSDAY <\/strong> Cool and quiet conditions will prevail with more sunshine and highs in the mid-upper 60s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FRIDAY <\/strong> Plenty of sunshine is on tap, with slightly warmer air returning to the area. Afternoon highs will reach the mid-70s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WEEKEND WEATHER<\/strong> Sunshine will continue to dominate over the weekend, with highs in the low-mid 70.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOOKING AHEAD<\/strong> The overall pattern remains mostly dry and warmer than “average” into the fourth week of September, with the 8 to 14 day outlook placing West Michigan in a drier and warmer-than-normal pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n