Looks like we’re gonna have a warm one this week. Here’s hoping you have a little time to enjoy sunbathing … or lots of shade if you don’t!
Laura shared this way back in August of 2017. See more on her Flickr.
More sunflowers on Michigan in Pictures.
I shared this photo waaaaaay back on August 19, 2009! Since my old posts are becoming inaccessible as the modern web leaves them behind, I’m trying to “save” at least one a week. I love Jim’s writings about the photos he takes and thought you would as well. Enjoy!
Fog rolls off of Lake Superior and up the Grand Sable Dunes on the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore as seen from the Log Slide Overlook west of Grand Marais in the Upper Peninsula Of Michigan. The Grand Sable Dunes are located on a five mile stretch between the Sable River and Au Sable Point in Alger County. The banks rise up to 275 feet high, created during the last ice age when sand and gravel filled in a deep rift in the glacier. Atop the gravelly banks, sand dunes rise another 80 feet. These are “perched dunes” because they are perched on top of another landform. They were probably formed when wind and waves piled up sand at the edge of Lake Nipissing, the forerunner of Lake Superior.
Check out Jim’s Pictured Rocks or Lake Superior galleries for much more!
Fox Squirrels in Ann Arbor at University of Michigan Aug 21 2021 by Corey Seeman
Five years ago I shared the news that July 2021 was the hottest July on planet Earth in the modern era. Life (and temperature) comes at you fast in the age of runaway climate change, so you probably won’t be surprised that just five years later, PBS reports that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the contiguous United States had its hottest month ever last month:
July averaged 76.89 degrees Fahrenheit (24.94 degrees Celsius) across the Lower 48 states, eclipsing the Dust Bowl’s July 1936 by an eighth of a degree. Records go back to 1895.
“It’s not good when you’re breaking records from the Dust Bowl, which we are in this case,” said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections. “And that was a crazy sort of situation where you put tens of millions of people in motion. You had this great migration because of the drought and the heat that hit the center of the U.S. — just a cataclysmic event in U. S. history. If we’re exceeding records from The Dust Bowl, that says that we’re in deep trouble.”
Although it was unusually cool in Alaska, hotter-than-normal conditions blanketed the Lower 48, with the most excessive heat in the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains and Southeast. The heat was so widespread that every one of the Lower 48 states was at least 1 degree Fahrenheit (nearly 0.6 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th century average, said Russ Vose, chief of monitoring at NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information.
The heat in the Dust Bowl years was more concentrated in parts of the Midwest and was aggravated by agricultural practices at the time, Vose said. What’s happening now is due to the burning of coal, oil and gas, scientists said.
“Extremely high temperatures across the continental U.S. this summer, along with intense drought and fire conditions, are absolutely consistent with the climate change signal,’ said Katharine Jacobs, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona.
If you’ve been following Michigan in Pictures for a while, you probably recognize Corey Seeman as Michigan’s leader in squirrel photography. Corey shared this photo back in the summer of 2021. See his latest on Flickr!
PS: You may also recognize Jeff Masters as the founder of Ann Arbor-based Weather Underground!
Michigan Vibe by Heather Aldridge
Heather took this picture 5 years ago when she rode her bike to the pier in Frankfort for sunrise & was delighted with the Michigan cloud next to the bluff as was I because – WOW! 😍
Reposting even though it will have some people shouting about AI, just as they were about suspicions of photoshop when I originally shared it. I do this in hopes you will feel the truth that none of these AI reimaginings have an iota of the impact that seeing a marvel like this in real life holds.
View Heather’s photo on Facebook & here’s hoping you have a magical day!
Check out more Michigan amazingness on Michigan in Pictures.
The Ashes of Canada by Bill’s Pictures
“It started life as a sapling, growing over the decades. It avoided fires until now and the last remnants of its being floated all the way here to land on you. That’s saddening. A beautiful tree to ash.” – A.S.
I live in southeast Michigan hundreds of miles from the fires that are choking our skies, but last night a solitary ash floated down & landed on my glasses. When I texted my best friend yesterday to tell them, they replied with the heartbreaking words above 😔
Bill took this photo yesterday in Plainwell & shared it in the Michigan in Pictures group on Facebook. I hope that you will share your pictures of what you’re seeing today and every day in there & that you follow Bill’s Pictures on Facebook!
Sault Ste Marie Michigan webcam on July 16, 2026 by WMTA
I woke up to air so thick you can cut it with a knife this morning, so I decided to take a stroll around the Great Lakes State via webcam with the help of West Michigan Travel Association’s live webcams plus a few others including the Flint Cultural Center, Campus Martius in Detroit, WMMT (Kalamazoo cam) & WILX Lansing. If you go to the WMTA page, you can see the latest image plus live video. I added air quality readings from IQ Air (click for statewide map) as well because YIKES!
You can also check out a slew of Lake Michigan lighthouse webcams through the good people at Lakeshore Keepers & conditions around the state via the the MDOT Traffic Camera Network.
July 15 Wildfire smoke by Mackinac Bridge Authority
Michigan had over twenty days of smoke-induced air quality advisories in 2025, up from zero in 2024. Michigan Storm Chasers informs us that zero is not on the table for 2026 in the excellent Michigan air quality forecast for today on their Facebook page:
Our air quality begins to dip across the majority of the state as we head into the mid-afternoon hours today, July 15th, 2026. By sunset tonight, nearly the entire state will see 150+ μg/m³ AQI concentration, which translates to very unhealthy on the air quality index. Overnight, those winds out of the northwest do not stop, bumping parts of our area into the hazardous to everyone category at 250.5-500 μg/m³ AQI concentration if recent short-term model trends are correct.
Dangerous air quality levels like these are rare, so please take your respiratory health very seriously. Smoke concerns mixed with the already excessive heat concerns both today and tomorrow will also be a factor for higher mortality rates amongst all age/health groups, per research collected by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). All data shown is for fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
For sure follow Michigan Storm Chasers on Facebook and the MiStormChasers YouTube channel that often includes live reporting on Michigan weather events. You can also check out the smoke tag on Michigan in Pictures for a reminder of what last summer’s wildfire smoke was like.
The top pic from the Mackinac Bridge Authority webcam is a view looking north from Mackinaw City while the other is looking south across the Mighty Mac from St. Ignace.
Here’s what the webcam view looked like when I posted this…
Fountain of Fire by Snappd by Sean
I was 100% gonna save this smokin hot photo of Dodge Fountain on Detroit’s Hart Plaza for a post when the Pistons kick off next season, but when Sean shared this hilarious tweet from the National Park Service I knew it was time.
You do indeed know it’s hot simply by walking out the door. With the brutal conditions expected to last into the weekend, please take care of yourself & everyone in your life, especially children & pets who don’t understand the risks!
Snappd by Sean Photography is one of my favorite Facebook follows, mixing humorous & thought provoking content with dynamite photography. Check him out @snappd_by_seann on Instagram too!
Sunset at the Beach by charles hildebrandt
I shared this photo 6 years ago today on June 30, 2020 along with a West Michigan Fox-17 report that the longest heatwave in West Michigan history was on the way. mLive’s Mark Torregrossa shares that although this year’s heatwave won’t be particularly long, it also won’t be particularly comfortable:
Michigan is under an extreme heat warning for the south and southwest regions, with an extreme heat watch for the east side of the state. Heat indexes are expected to reach 105 degrees, which is significant for Michigan’s climate despite being relatively common in southern states like Texas. An afternoon above 90 degrees is considered hot for Michigan in the middle of summer, and residents should take this heat seriously, regardless of comparisons to warmer climates. The warnings use a sliding scale based on what populations are accustomed to experiencing.
The hottest days of this heat wave will be Wednesday and Thursday, with temperatures reaching 90 to 95 degrees across most of the state. In the southeast, particularly in paved areas with lots of concrete and asphalt, temperatures may approach 100 degrees. This would be the first 100-degree reading in southeast Michigan since 2012, making it a 14-year gap. Tuesday through Thursday will see the state fully under the “hot dome,” with even northern areas like Traverse City reaching near 90 degrees. The capped atmosphere will be too hot to produce many thunderstorms during the peak heat.
I shared this photo that Charles took on Ottawa Beach in Holland with the 2020 post – felt perfect to bring it back. Check out his latest on his Flickr & stay cool everyone!
Falling Skies over Ludington by Brad Reed
Ludington photographer Brad Reed shared a selection of absolutely incredible shots of the skies over Ludington & Lake Michigan on Wednesday. Click either pic to view them all!
Follow Todd & Brad Reed Photography on Facebook and view & purchase their work on their website or in their gallery in downtown Ludington!
Spectacular Skies by Brad Reed
