The climatological image of July in West Michigan, is the very essence of summer. Warm, sunny, let's head to the beaches.

This July in Muskegon was warm, but not as warm as expected. For the month temperatures were 2° below the norm. The last 14 days of the month posted below normal temperatures.

The high for the month came near the end of the month- 86° on the 27th. The month's low was 45° on Thursday the 20th. That morning I arrived in Muskegon via boat, I can vouch for that thermometer reading.

Along with the cooler than expected temperatures came above normal rain. 2.86 inches of wet stuff fell compared to the norm of 2.1. Saturday the 8th with .72 inches, and Sunday the 30th with .92 inches were the month's premier drenchers.

Compared to May and June, Muskegon was not a windy month. July's average wind speed was 7.5, compared to 9.6 in May and 9.8 in June. The windiest day was the 1st at 12.2 knots. The least windy day was Monday the 24th, at 3.5 knots. This lack of wind was lake wide and kept the Chicago Mackinac fleet at a slow pace.

Note the lack of warm days with a west wind. In june there were 9 days with west wind and none were above normal. Typically the west winds are often warm, but certainly not recently.

So, at least this July Muskegon was cooler and rainier than normal with less wind for sailing. Boo Hiss!!!