1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
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 Detroit, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 9, 9:10 AM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 1010 AM EDT THU AUG 9 2001 COMPLEX OF STORMS APPROACHING THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES AND CONTINUE TO REMAIN HEALTHY. CLOUD TOPS CONTINUE TO COOL AND MOVEMENT IS NORTHEAST. THIS IS ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF THE MOISTURE REMAINS FROM T.S. BARRY AND IMPRESSIVE 700MB THETA-E ADVECTION (GRADIENT MAGNITUDE IS EQUALLY IMPRESSIVE). THIS WILL BE THE FIRST PROBLEM OF THE DAY... WITH COMPLEX APPROACHING...THIS WILL LIKELY HOLD DOWN TEMPS AND HEAT INDEX VALUES ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-94. HOWEVER IF COMPLEX MOVES EAST BEFORE NOON...PLENTY OF SUNSHINE BEHIND IT (PER LATEST VISIBLE SATELLITE) AND DEWPOINTS WILL BE QUITE A BIT HIGHER FROM THE RAINFALL (MID TO UPPER 70S). WE WILL LEAVE IN THE HEAT INDEX HEADLINE. THIS MAY LEAVE BEHIND BOUNDARIES (OUTFLOW AND DIFFERENTIAL HEATING) THAT WILL BE MONITORED CLOSELY. (IE...NEW SCAN NOW SHOWS LEADING ACTIVITY WEAKENING) SOUNDINGS UPSTREAM...UNSTABLE. CAPES BETWEEN 3000/4000 J/KG AND SATELLITE DERIVED LI/S -2C TO -4C. MID LEVEL FLOW WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE BRINGING THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER (WIND) TO OUR CWA. PRE FRONTAL TROF AS NOTED IN THE HI-RES VISIBLE AND MSAS IS MOVING ACROSS LOWER WISCONSIN AND NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN. 88D/S NOW PICKING UP REFLECTIVITIES ACROSS LAKE MICHIGAN AS THIS MAY BE THE START FOR AN ACTIVE AFTERNOON. NEW RUC NOW SHOWS PRE-FRONTAL TROF (IN ASSOCIATION WITH THAT CU FIELD) MOVING INTO THE NORTHWEST CWA BETWEEN 16Z-18Z. WILL BRING THE CHANCE OF STORMS EARLIER IN THE NEW ZONES. WE HAVE INITIATED RSO FROM 1526Z-0026Z. POTENTIAL FOR A SQUALL LINE TONIGHT WITH THE COLD FRONT AS RAIN LOOKS LIKE A GOOD BET (WE ALL NEED IT). WE ARE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF 300MB RRQ AND MID LEVEL FLOW NEAR 50 KTS. AGAIN WIND THE MAIN THREAT TONIGHT BEFORE OUR BIG BREAK FRIDAY. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME. NEW ZONES...NPW...SPS WILL BE OUT SHORTLY. .DTX...HEAT ADVISORY TODAY ALL OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. BGM
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-100400- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 1111 AM EDT THU AUG 9 2001 ...SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL STATEMENT FOR SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN... DISPATCHERS...PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR EMERGENCY MANAGERS IMMEDIATELY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON... HOWEVER A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO APPROACH TOWARD THIS EVENING. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME SEVERE WITH WIND GUSTS OVER 60 MPH. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A STRONG COLD FRONT ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS STATES WILL PUSH SOUTHEAST TOWARD THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. IN ADVANCE OF THIS COLD FRONT IS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE THAT WILL INITIALLY HELP WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE TRI CITIES REGION EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. FURTHERMORE...MOISTURE FROM THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM BARRY IS AIDING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MONROE AND LENAWEE COUNTIES...BUT THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE. THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN WILL BE PRIMARILY BETWEEN 1 PM AND MIDNIGHT. AT THIS TIME... THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP NORTH OF INTERSTATE 69 BETWEEN 1 PM AND 4 PM...DEVELOPING FURTHER SOUTH IN THE CORRIDORS OF INTERSTATE 69 AND 94 BETWEEN 4 PM AND 7 PM. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 94 WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON PERHAPS REACHING NEAR SEVERE LEVELS LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS WILL INITIALLY MOVE EAST BETWEEN 10 AND 15 MPH. TOWARD EVENING THUNDERSTORM MOVEMENT WILL BE TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST AND INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED BETWEEN 15 AND 25 MPH. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CLEAR SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN AFTER MIDNIGHT. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR TO YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET...FOR LATER WEATHER UPDATES. YOU CAN ALSO REACH YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ONLINE AT HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/DTX/START.HTM (ALL LOWER CASE) BGM
The Detroit radar (KDTX), 102 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:33 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning ignited a barn. The fire completely destroyed the barn and the contents inside it; including a truck, a tractor, a grain truck, a travel trailer, lawn mowers and tools. Firefighters managed to save the house next to the barn. The house sustained only minor damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, August 2001
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: 5263791.