Weather in Grand Rapids in July

Prime time. If you get to pick your dates, July is the one. Highs average 26.9 °C, lows 16.4 °C, and rain falls on 11 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

July is the highest-scoring month of the twelve. The nearest rival is September, and the month at the other end of the year is January.

Rain on 11 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 5 days top 30 °C — hot spells arrive, but they break. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest July day reached 36.4 °C and the coldest night fell to 6 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 70 mm — roughly 89% of the month's rain in one day.

July is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest July on record still delivered 140 mm against 44 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 79 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 8.2 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 75%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How July sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 24.4 °C in June, 26.9 here, 26.6 in August. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in July

July is at or near the longest days of Grand Rapids's year: 15.1 hours of daylight, losing 0.7 hours across the month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 35.3 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage.

How busy it gets

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

July in Grand Rapids versus nearby

If Grand Rapids is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Milwaukee is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain. Chicago is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain.

So: July is the answer for Grand Rapids. If it is booked out or priced out, September is the next best thing at 0 points behind, and January is the month to keep off the shortlist.

Every month in Grand Rapids

See all twelve months in Grand Rapids, or where else to go in July.