An unstable airmass combined with lake breeze boundaries to produce scattered thunderstorms across northeast Lower Michigan during the afternoon of the 22nd. A few of the storms produced severe wind gusts and hail.
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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 episode as NWS APX wrote it up.
An unstable airmass combined with lake breeze boundaries to produce scattered thunderstorms across northeast Lower Michigan during the afternoon of the 22nd. A few of the storms produced severe wind gusts and hail.
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 Gaylord, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 22, 10:40 AM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI 1140 AM EDT SUN JUL 22 2001 WEAK DISORGANIZED SURFACE PRESSURE PATTERN WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES REGION THIS AFTERNOON...WITH WEAK RIDGING PERSISTING (FOR THE MOST PART) ALOFT. MAIN CONCERN FOR THE AFTERNOON...AS IN THE PAST FEW DAYS...REVOLVES AROUND ADDITIONAL SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. THERE IS A VERY SIMILAR PATTERN ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON COMPARED TO RECENT DAYS. DYNAMIC FORCING IS WEAK ONCE AGAIN...MAINLY LIMITED TO A FEW WEAK SHORT WAVES (CONVECTIVELY INDUCED FOR THE MOST PART) RIDING OVER THE UPPER RIDGE CENTERED JUST TO OUR WEST. SOME OF THIS SHORTWAVE ENERGY WILL MOVE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON. NUMEROUS CONVECTIVE AND LAKE BREEZE BOUNDARIES WILL BE THE ONLY OTHER FOCUS FOR AFTERNOON CONVECTION. IN FACT...WE WILL BE GETTING UNDER THE UNFAVORABLE RIGHT EXIT REGION OF A 60 KNOT UPPER JET BY LATE AFTERNOON. INSTABILITY THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE QUITE GOOD ONCE AGAIN. MODIFIED 12Z APX SOUNDING (WHICH WILL NOT CHANGE MUCH BY EVENING) FOR 87/68 (T/TD) YIELDS A CAPE VALUE AROUND 2500 J/KG AND LI OF -8. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AS INSTABILITY INCREASES AND BOUNDARIES INTERACT. LIMITING FACTORS FOR SEVERE WEATHER REMAIN THE LACK OF A WEAK CAP...WEAK WIND FIELDS AND HIGH FREEZING AND WBZ LEVELS (13000 FEET AND 11000 FEET RESPECTIVELY). MAIN SEVERE THREAT WILL BE MARGINAL SEVERE GUSTS AS PULSING CELLS COLLAPSE. THIS THREAT WILL BE INCREASING LATE THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY THIS EVENING AS DRIER MID LEVEL AIR WORKS IN FROM MINNESOTA. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE HEAVY RAIN PRODUCERS GIVEN THE JUICY AIRMASS IN PLACE (PWAT VALUES AROUND 1.5 INCHES AND K INDICES AROUND 35) AND WEAK WIND FIELDS (SLOW CELL PROPAGATION). .APX...NONE. BAK
The NCL Michigan radar (KAPX), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:30 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm downed several trees. One truck had its windshield broken by flying debris and a female passenger in the truck was injured.
Thunderstorm downed a few trees near the intersection of M-55 and M-65.
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, July 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: 5255566, 5255563, 5255565, 5255564.