Alert archive / Michigan / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 90, NWS Gaylord, MI
NWS Gaylord, MI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 18, 2026, 7:01 PM EDT for Emmet County, Michigan. It was in force for 44 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 18, 2026, 7:01 PM EDT (23:01 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 18, 2026, 7:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 44 min
- Issued by
- NWS Gaylord, MI
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Hail
- 1.0 in
- Wind
- 60.0 mph
County Emmet County, MI
The radar
The NCL Michigan radar (KAPX), 76 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:04 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 7:54 PM EDT | TSTM WND GST 54 | 1 Wnw Pellston, MI | ASOS station KPLN Pellston - Rgnl Airport Of Emmet County. |
Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The nearest sounding before it
Alpena, MI (KAPX), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 209 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 9 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -53 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1241 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 42 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 94 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 119 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
589
WUUS53 KAPX 182301
SVRAPX
MIC047-182345-
/O.NEW.KAPX.SV.W.0090.260818T2301Z-260818T2345Z/
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
National Weather Service Gaylord MI
701 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
The National Weather Service in Gaylord has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...
Central Emmet County in northern Michigan...
* Until 745 PM EDT.
* At 701 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Good Hart, or
16 miles northwest of Harbor Springs, moving east at 35 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage
to roofs, siding, and trees.
* This severe thunderstorm will be near...
Cross Village and Good Hart around 705 PM EDT.
Bliss and Pleasant View around 715 PM EDT.
Pellston, Carp Lake, and Levering around 720 PM EDT.
Brutus around 730 PM EDT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
&&
LAT...LON 4551 8512 4558 8513 4569 8501 4569 8473
4541 8473
TIME...MOT...LOC 2301Z 279DEG 30KT 4564 8515
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
Dippman3 follow-up statements
718
WWUS53 KAPX 182320
SVSAPX
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Gaylord MI
720 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
MIC047-182345-
/O.CON.KAPX.SV.W.0090.000000T0000Z-260818T2345Z/
Emmet MI-
720 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 745 PM EDT
FOR CENTRAL EMMET COUNTY...
At 720 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Cross Village,
or 13 miles north of Harbor Springs, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to
roofs, siding, and trees.
This severe storm will be near...
Cross Village, Stutsmanville, and Pleasant View around 725 PM EDT.
Bliss around 730 PM EDT.
Pellston, Carp Lake, and Levering around 735 PM EDT.
Brutus around 745 PM EDT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
&&
LAT...LON 4551 8512 4558 8513 4569 8501 4569 8473
4541 8473
TIME...MOT...LOC 2320Z 273DEG 25KT 4561 8506
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
Dippman477
WWUS53 KAPX 182338
SVSAPX
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Gaylord MI
738 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
MIC047-182345-
/O.CON.KAPX.SV.W.0090.000000T0000Z-260818T2345Z/
Emmet MI-
738 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 745 PM EDT
FOR CENTRAL EMMET COUNTY...
At 738 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Pleasant View,
or 9 miles west of Pellston, moving east at 25 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and penny size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees.
This severe storm will be near...
Pellston, Bliss, Levering, and Pleasant View around 745 PM EDT.
Brutus around 750 PM EDT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
&&
LAT...LON 4554 8505 4561 8506 4569 8499 4569 8473
4546 8473
TIME...MOT...LOC 2338Z 282DEG 20KT 4559 8496
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
Dippman191
WWUS53 KAPX 182343
SVSAPX
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Gaylord MI
743 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
MIC047-182352-
/O.EXP.KAPX.SV.W.0090.000000T0000Z-260818T2345Z/
Emmet MI-
743 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR CENTRAL EMMET COUNTY WILL
EXPIRE AT 745 PM EDT...
The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe
limits, and no longer poses an immediate threat to life or property.
Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire. However, small
hail and gusty winds are still possible with this thunderstorm.
To report severe weather, contact your nearest law enforcement
agency. They will relay your report to the National Weather Service
Gaylord.
&&
LAT...LON 4554 8505 4561 8506 4569 8499 4569 8473
4546 8473
TIME...MOT...LOC 2342Z 279DEG 30KT 4558 8491
$$
DippmanWhat forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Gaylord, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 18, 2:36 PM EDT, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Showers likely and chance of thunderstorms this afternoon/evening. A few strong storms possible.
- Quiet Wednesday-Thursday
- Unsettled again Thursday night into this weekend.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 18, 2:36 PM EDT, 4 hours 25 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Gaylord MI
236 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Showers likely and chance of thunderstorms this afternoon/evening.
A few strong storms possible.
- Quiet Wednesday-Thursday
- Unsettled again Thursday night into this weekend.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 236 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
Pattern / Forecast Synopsis:
Disheveled longwave troughing over northeastern North America to be
the primary influence of the region over the forecast period, with
occasional shortwave trough passages to move through the region,
most of which will be maturing / closed off, and may have some
hangtime across the Great Lakes owing to standard stagnant August
jet dynamics.
Currently, a mature upper low over Hudson Bay to continue an
eastward trek, with antecedent SW return flow drawing in warmer and
(to an extent) more moist air across the Great Lakes. Surface
dewpoints have already ballooned to the 60 to 66 range across the
region as of the noon hour, with evidence of prefrontal clearing
building into northern Michigan. Surface cold frontal boundary
roughly stretching from James Bay through Marquette and WSW through
Minnesota just north of the Twin Cities. Evidence of some mixing
trying to manifest just ahead of this cold frontal boundary... which
may be something to watch for across our neck of the woods.
Nonetheless, frontal boundary to pass through the region with just
enough instability to force a convective response across Wisconsin,
eventually leaking into northern lower late this afternoon into the
evening, with showers and storms gradually clearing through the
evening / night from WNW to ESE.
Surface high pressure to build on the backside of the front,
yielding an aggressive drying NW wind regime (in conjunction with
500mb height rises / shortwave ridging) through the day Wednesday
that will bring back sunnier skies and seasonable warmth during the
day and again Thursday... but with the dry nature of the airmass and
calming winds overnight, cooler nights to return Wednesday and
Thursday nights. Next wave digs from the NNW starting Friday, with
current trend pointing to this wave occluding / closing off overhead
through the course of the weekend, bringing back cooler and
unsettled conditions for at least the start of the weekend (and
perhaps a renewed severe threat Friday?). High pressure / 500mb
shortwave ridging to follow through the day Sunday and into Monday
before the next wave passes through at the end of the forecast
period.
Details:
Shower / Storm Potential This Afternoon / Tonight: Aforementioned
frontal boundary to traverse the region this evening into tonight,
which looks to suffice in the forcing department (albeit, to a
limited extent... as pointed out by previous forecaster, frontal
convergence leaves a bit to be desired). Latest CAMs seem bound and
determined to have an aggressive prefrontal mixing regime,
particularly across northeast lower with downsloping WSW winds. Will
have to see how aggressive this trends as it will be pivotal to the
generation of this evening's instability, and thus the evolution of
any convection. Nonetheless, the other thing CAMs are persistent
with is deeper moisture right along / ahead of the front pooling
across the region, and thus giving us instability in the order of
500 to 800 J/kg of MLCAPE. Several fascinating aspects to this setup
to unpack... first and foremost, most modeled soundings showcase a
pseudo-inverted-V profile that usually comes with gustier storms
that don't really produce much in the way of rainfall... but with
largely unidirectional flow, anticipate it is possible if (and it's
a BIG ole "if") we can maintain instability following any intial
convection, which could support increasingly heavier rainfall in any
additional storm formation. A majority of CAMs seem to find this
idea possible, but I admittedly have my doubts.
Aforementioned unidirectional flow will be a big player in any
potential convective evolution. Hodograph shape this evening will
largely be linear, and as such, while this does eventually favor an
outflow dominant multicellular / linear mode... should be noted that
upon convective initiation (when storms are most discrete), this does
favor splitting cells... with potential for an initial left mover
dominant regime before transitioning into a linear mode with time...
and select CAMs have this down to a tee across the NW lower
shoreline, perhaps scraping the very southern reaches of Mackinac
County... As such, there is potential for an intial hail dominant
severe threat across the aforementioned regions before transitioning
to a linear, more wind / outflow dominant mode this evening. Should
note... we probably only achieve the most marginal of severe
conditions at best if we can hold onto progged instability trends...
but in the event we trend more downward with instability, the threat
may become much more muted. Nonetheless, enough is there for SPC to
expand the inherited Day 1 Marginal Risk (1/5) across all of
northern lower, butting up right against eastern upper. Primary
highlighted hazard is damaging wind gusts (5%), though in this
morning's most recent outlook, a 5% hail risk has been introduced to
NW lower (GT Bay and south), cutting off to the east roughly at I-75
/ US 127... which matches well with a majority of evening /
overnight convective episodes... most robust west, a bit more
isolated / weaker east.
Final piece of the puzzle is hydro based concerns. Recent drier
weather has allowed our soil to revert back to its more normal
porous sandy character... but with an increasingly moist profile
during the frontal passage, coupled with some borderline echo
training potential (unidirectional flow!) within PWATs swelling
closer to 1.50, in the event repeated storms can manifest, suppose
there is potential for some localized heavy rainfall totals. In
particular focus by CAMs is the NW lower corridor, including the
Grand Traverse Bay / TVC area, which has a handful of CAMs laying
down a strip of quick 1.50-2.50"+ of rain. Pending on how quickly
this can occur (and to what extent), suppose there could be a quiet
flood concern, especially if this can manifest over the Traverse
City urban corridor... with more stratiform / isolated convective
modes driving lower rainfall totals the farther east one goes across
northern lower.
&&
.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/...
Issued at 133 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
-SHRA AND -TSRA will sweep across all TAF sites this evening,
resulting in temporary reductions in CIG's and VSBY's. Mainly
VFR with periods of MVFR will persist between 1822 to 1903Z
tonight followed by VCSH and patchy BR overnight. Winds veer to
the NNW Wednesday with SKC expected through the remainder of
the forecast period.
&&
.APX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MI...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 11 PM EDT this evening for LHZ345.
Small Craft Advisory until 8 PM EDT this evening for LHZ346.
Small Craft Advisory until 11 PM EDT this evening for LMZ323-
342-344>346.
&&
DISCUSSION...HAD
AVIATION...SJCIn the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 18, 2:30 PM EDT, 4 hours 31 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Gaylord MI
230 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
MIZ096-181915-
Eastern Mackinac MI-
230 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT NORTHEASTERN MACKINAC COUNTY
THROUGH 315 PM EDT...
At 230 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
East Lake, or 16 miles northwest of St. Ignace, moving east at 25
mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 40 mph and half inch hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
East Lake.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 4606 8497 4616 8494 4616 8450 4602 8459
4604 8467 4596 8467
TIME...MOT...LOC 1830Z 275DEG 20KT 4609 8487
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
DippmanSpecial weather statement, Aug 18, 6:28 PM EDT, 33 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Gaylord MI
628 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
MIZ098-182300-
Beaver Island and surrounding islands MI-
628 PM EDT Tue Aug 18 2026
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT NORTHWESTERN CHARLEVOIX COUNTY
THROUGH 700 PM EDT...
At 628 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Saint James On Beaver Island, moving east at 40 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 40 mph and pea size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Saint James On Beaver Island.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
&&
LAT...LON 4580 8570 4585 8546 4583 8542 4585 8538
4579 8525 4574 8533 4573 8545 4560 8545
4556 8549 4556 8567 4562 8569 4566 8567
4566 8571 4568 8574
TIME...MOT...LOC 2228Z 275DEG 33KT 4571 8561
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
DippmanThe office that day
Everything else NWS Gaylord, MI issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 1:05 PM EDT | Small Craft Advisory | APX | 10 hr | |
| Aug 18, 2:30 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | APX | Chippewa | 45 min |
| Aug 18, 6:22 PM EDT | Special Marine Warning | APX | 113 min | |
| Aug 18, 6:28 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | APX | Charlevoix | 32 min |
| Aug 18, 6:36 PM EDT | Special Marine Warning | APX | 63 min | |
| Aug 18, 6:50 PM EDT | Special Marine Warning | APX | 44 min | |
| Aug 18, 6:59 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | APX | Mackinac | 31 min |
| Aug 18, 7:36 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | APX | Benzie | 39 min |
| Aug 18, 7:46 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | APX | Chippewa | 44 min |
| Aug 18, 7:49 PM EDT | Special Weather Statement | APX | Cheboygan | 41 min |
| Aug 18, 7:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | APX | Benzie | 37 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Michigan, 2026Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2026
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.