Name: Flash Flooding in Michigan, July 23, 2001
Start: 2001-07-23T11:58
End: 2001-07-23T15:00
Location: Michigan

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: $100,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Events: 2

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.

Flash flooding occurred during the early afternoon hours of the 23rd across mainly northwestern Allegan county and southwestern Ottawa county. Numerous roads were reported to be flooded along the Allegan and Ottawa county lines by area law enforcement. Several reports of flooding were received from the city of Holland (Ottawa county). A report of 5.51 inches of rain was received from a trained spotter in Holland Township (Ottawa county) at 12:58 p.m. EDT, who also reported several impassable flooded roads.

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 Jul 23, 10:59 AM EST, 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 10:59 AM EST, 59 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
1159 AM EDT MON JUL 23 2001

APPEARS TO BE A SOUTHWESTERLY LOW LEVEL JET ACROSS SOUTHERN LAKE
MICHIGAN...WITH LOCAL SPEED CONVERGENCE OCCURRING NEAR THE
SHORELINE. THIS HAS BEEN FEEDING INTO HOLLAND AND SOUTH HAVEN... AND
CELLS CONTINUE TO FORM OFFSHORE AND REPEAT OVER THOSE SAME AREAS.
DEW POINTS IN THE LOWER TO MID 70S AND PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES
AROUND 2 INCHES ARE CREATING A HEAVY RAIN THREAT WITH THE REPEATING
CELLS. ALSO OF CONCERN FOR THIS AFTERNOON IS THE LARGE TSTM COMPLEX
JUST UPSTREAM IN WISCONSIN MOVING THIS WAY. HAVE UPDATED TO FCST
MORE IN THE WAY OF CLOUDS AND SHOWERS/TSTMS...AND TO LOWER HIGH
TEMPS. AM THINKING PRIMARY THREAT THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IS
HEAVY RAIN AND FLOODING...WITH LESS OF A SEVERE THREAT DUE TO
EXTENSIVE CLOUDINESS LIMITING THE INSTABILITY.

.GRR...NONE.

MEADE

The radar

The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 53 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Ottawa

When: July 23, 11:58 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Ottawa County, Holland
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.003, -86.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Allegan

When: July 23, 12:15 PM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Allegan County, Saugatuck
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.518, -85.910 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Michigan in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Michigan, July 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: 5257628, 5257627.