Hail, Van Buren
- When
- April 9, 12:53 AM EST to 12:55 AM EST
- Where
- Van Buren County, Bangor
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 42.317, -86.117
Hail in Michigan, April 9, 2001
Several large hail producing thunderstorms developed during the early morning hours of the 9th along and just north of a warm front that moved up into far southern lower Michigan. A severe thunderstorm that moved through Van Buren county produced three quarters inch hail in Mattawan, and one inch hail in Bangor, where local law enforcement officials reported that the hail briefly covered the…
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- $40,000
- Events
- 4
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 GRR wrote it up.
Several large hail producing thunderstorms developed during the early morning hours of the 9th along and just north of a warm front that moved up into far southern lower Michigan. A severe thunderstorm that moved through Van Buren county produced three quarters inch hail in Mattawan, and one inch hail in Bangor, where local law enforcement officials reported that the hail briefly covered the ground. Three quarters inch hail was also reported in Gobles (Van Buren county), where local law enforcement officials reported that a hail depth of 3 inches on the ground was briefly observed. Large hail was also reported 2 miles northwest of Alamo, in Kalamazoo county, where a trained spotter noted that the hail lasted for 5 minutes before ending. Finally, one inch hail was reported by a trained spotter in Bellevue, in Eaton county.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Grand Rapids, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 8, 9:00 PM EST, 3 hours 53 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 8, 9:00 PM EST, 3 hours 53 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1000 PM EDT SUN APR 8 2001 TWEAKED OVERNIGHT MINS UP A BIT IN UPDATE BASED ON CURRENT OBS AND EXPECTED INCREASE IN CLOUDS OVER NEXT FEW HOURS. TOOK POPS UP TO CATAGORICAL ACROSS SW CWA...AND RAISED POPS ACROSS SOUTHERN HALF OF CWA FROM 60 TO 70 PERCENT. CONVECTION RAPIDLY INCREASING THIS EVENING ACROSS IOWA WITH STORMS RAPIDLY ADVECTING ENE. SHOULD SEE LEADING EDGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS REACHING THE SW GRR CWA BY 05Z...WITH HEAVIER PRECIP AND CONVECTION FOCUSSED SOUTH OF I-94. MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW FREEZING LEVELS AROUND 10-11 KFT AT JXN AND AZO...SO HAILERS MAY BE A PROBLEM. LOOKS LIKE THE WARM >FRONT WILL BE FAR ENOUGH SOUTH TO KEEP A STABLE LAYER ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN TIER DEEP ENOUGH TO PRECLUDE MUCH OF A THREAT FROM DOWNBURSTS OR TORNADOES. OSTUNO .GRR...NONE.
The radar
The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:52 UTC.
Event by event
4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Van Buren
- When
- April 9, 1:15 AM EST
- Where
- Van Buren County, Gobles
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 42.350, -85.867
Hail, Kalamazoo
- When
- April 9, 1:21 AM EST to 1:26 AM EST
- Where
- Kalamazoo County, Alamo
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.367, -85.700
Hail, Eaton
- When
- April 9, 2:35 AM EST
- Where
- Eaton County, Bellevue
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.450, -85.017
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
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, April 9, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Ohio, April 9, 2001
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Missouri, April 9 to 10, 2001
- Damaging Wind in California, April 9, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, April 9 to 10, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Montana, April 9, 2001
- Flash Flood and Flood in Pennsylvania, April 9, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Illinois, April 9 to 10, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, April 9, 2001
- Tornadoes and Hail in Pennsylvania, April 9, 2001
- Heavy Rain in New York, April 9 to 10, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, April 9 to 10, 2001
More
Every storm in Michigan in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, April 2001
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: 5238588, 5238589, 5238668, 5238669.