In comparison to where I grew up, Michigan has a very mild climate. In a normal year, it's about 5-10 degrees cooler than 2023 has been so far, and significantly more rain, which helps keep temperatures a little lower.

But that's not the case this year, and some are asking... could we be on pace for one of Michigan's warmest years ever?

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Summer is officially here, so heat is something that is just going to happen. But regular days in the 90s are rare, especially this early in the season. And so far, areas of southern Michigan have already seen a dozen or more of them.

But as hot and dry as this year has been so far, does it come close to the hottest summer on record for the state?

Not even close.

The summer of 1936

Summer in Michigan of 1936 was brutal. You think day sin the 90s without A/C is tough, how about multiple days in the 100s, with NO relief whatsoever?

That summer, 13 state records were broken for high temperatures, many of which still stand today, and nearly every day was over 100 degrees. Areas on the east side of the state saw it reach as high as 111 degrees. But the hottest day in Michigan came on July 13, 1936. The town of Mio, hit 112 degrees.

And you'd think this would be somewhere in the state, but you'd be wrong. Mio is up north, east of Grayling.

That summer was so hot, more than 500 people lost their lives in Michigan, most of which were children and elderly people. Across the country, more than 1,300 people died in the heat.

This was also the summer of the Dust Bowl in the Plains states, and one of the driest on record for the entire country.

We may not be on pace for the hottest summer on record, but it's still early *knocks on wood* and crazier things have happened.

Meanwhile, stay cool, and before you know it, we'll be complaining about there being snow on the ground again.