October 2024 was warmer, drier and sunnier than an average October in West Michigan.
The average high temperature for the month in Grand Rapids was 67.1° and the average low temperature was 42.7°. Combine those two and you get an average temperature for the month of 54.9°, which was 3.4° warmer than average.
The warmest days came at the end of the month with highs of 79° on the 29th and 30th. The coolest temperature was 29° on the 27th. We had 12 days during the month with high temperatures in the 70s, 13 days with high temperatures in the 60s and 5 days with high temperatures in the 50s. Twenty-five of the 31 days of the month had high temperatures warmer than 60°.
Rainfall totaled just 1.28″. That was just 31.8% of the average precipitation of 4.02″ (2.74″ below average). We had only five days with measurable rainfall and no snow fell during the month.
The average wind speed during the month was 8.8 mph. The windiest day was the 31st (Halloween) with an average wind speed (midnight-to-midnight) of 20.4 mph and a peak gust of 46 mph at the Grand Rapids Ford Airport.
We had 6 days when you could see lightning or hear thunder and 4 days with significant fog (visibility 1/4 mile or less).
Average sunshine for the month was 73%. The average is 44%. We had 7 days with 100% sunshine, including a spectacular five days in a row from the 17th through the 21st. The cloudiest day (with only 10 minutes of sunshine was the 31st – Halloween).
This is the 8-14 Day Temperature Outlook from the Climate Prediction Center for November 9-15. The mild trend will continue across much of the country during the first two weeks of November. While the average temperatures drop, I think overall, temperatures will stay warmer than average for at least the first half of November. However, I think we have a good chance of seeing a colder than average period in December. I’ll have more on the Winter Forecast (and the year 2005) in a few days.
Looks like no snow for the start of the firearms deer hunting season on Nov. 15.
