Michigan, 1998

Hail in Michigan, May 19, 1998

May 19, 1998 · NWS DTX · 10 events in 4 counties and zones

Thunderstorms developed in northern lower Michigan on the afternoon of the 19th, just ahead of a slow-moving cold front. These storms moved southeast across Saginaw Bay and into the Thumb region, where they produced large quantities of hail.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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.

Thunderstorms developed in northern lower Michigan on the afternoon of the 19th, just ahead of a slow-moving cold front. These storms moved southeast across Saginaw Bay and into the Thumb region, where they produced large quantities of hail. Golfball sized hail fell over a large part of northern Tuscola County, thanks to two separate thunderstorms. In Sebewaing, a ten minute hailfall covered the ground.

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Sanilac

When
May 19, 4:12 PM EST
Where
Sanilac County, Sandusky
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
43.420, -82.830

Hail, Huron

When
May 19, 4:15 PM EST to 4:24 PM EST
Where
Huron County, Sebewaing
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
43.730, -83.450

Hail, Sanilac

When
May 19, 4:20 PM EST
Where
Sanilac County, Sandusky
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.420, -82.830

Hail, Tuscola

When
May 19, 4:30 PM EST
Where
Tuscola County, Unionville to Colling
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.650, -83.470

Hail, Tuscola

When
May 19, 4:30 PM EST
Where
Tuscola County, 5 mi NW of Cass City
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.650, -83.230

Hail, Tuscola

When
May 19, 4:45 PM EST
Where
Tuscola County, Cass City
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.600, -83.170

Hail, Huron

When
May 19, 4:50 PM EST
Where
Huron County, Bay Port
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.850, -83.380

Hail, Sanilac

When
May 19, 5:15 PM EST
Where
Sanilac County, 3 mi NE of Marlette
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
43.370, -83.030

Hail, Huron

When
May 19, 5:35 PM EST
Where
Huron County, Harbor Beach
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
43.830, -82.650

Hail, St. Clair

When
May 19, 6:04 PM EST
Where
St. Clair County, 5 mi W of Port Huron
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.980, -82.520

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Michigan in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, May 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: 5641561, 5641562, 5641563, 5641564, 5641565, 5641566, 5641567, 5641568, 5641569, 5641570.