Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Michigan, August 10, 1998

Name: Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Michigan, August 10, 1998
Start: 1998-08-10T14:00
End: 1998-08-10T17:55
Location: Michigan

August 10, 1998 · NWS DTX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Scattered, pulse-type thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front moving south across lower Michigan. Two cells produced severe weather.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1.5 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS DTX wrote it up.

Scattered, pulse-type thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front moving south across lower Michigan. Two cells produced severe weather. A 62 mph gust was observed at the Harbor Beach Marina, and eight tightly packed trees were downed nearby. A television meteorologist reported 60 mph winds with a thunderstorm in Clayton Township, just west of Flint.Lightning struck a building supply store northwest of Brighton late in the afternoon. The resulting fire completely destroyed the building.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Huron

When: August 10, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Huron County, Harbor Beach
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Property damage: $6,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.830, -82.650

Lightning, Livingston

When: August 10, 3:30 PM EST
Where: Livingston County, 4 mi NW of Brighton
Property damage: $1.5 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 42.603, -83.911 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Genesee

When: August 10, 5:55 PM EST
Where: Genesee County, 4 mi WNW of Flint Bishop Arpt
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
Coordinates: 42.980, -83.820

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Michigan in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Michigan, August 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5660587, 5660589, 5660588.