1 flood, 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 May 21, 2:51 PM EST, 8 hours 9 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 351 PM EDT MON MAY 21 2001 ZONE PACKAGE HAS BEEN ISSUED EARLY DUE TO TORNADO WATCH. SHORT RANGE MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT SETTLING IN CLOSED LOW ALOFT OVER GREAT LAKES...AS ADVERTISED BY MEDIUM RANGE MODELS OF PAST SEVERAL DAYS...WITH NEW ETA REMARKABLY CLOSE TO AVN. AT THE SURFACE...MODELS CONTINUE TO WHIP COLD FRONT ON THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT...WITH ANOTHER WAVE PASSING ACROSS EASTERN OH TUESDAY...THEN LOW NORTH OF LAKE SUPERIOR MIGRATING BACK TO THE SOUTH THROUGH WEDNESDAY UNDER THE UPPER LOW. MUCH COLDER AIR MASS ADVECTING IN LATE TONIGHT BEHIND FRONT...MORE INDICATIVE OF EARLY SPRING...AS WILL BE THE CASE WITH 850 MB TEMPERATURES FLIRTING WITH FREEZING NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. MOISTURE AND OMEGA FIELDS DEPICT DRYOUT ALOFT OVERNIGHT...WITH DEEP SUBSIDENCE BEHIND THE FRONT...SO WILL END THE SHOWERS AND STORMS TEMPORARILY BY AROUND MIDNIGHT...AS LOW TO MID LEVEL THETA E RIDGE PIVOTS ON OUT. THEREAFTER FURTHER LOW TO MID LEVEL OMEGA LIFT TUESDAY MORNING AND PRETTY GOOD AGAIN WEDNESDAY. DEEPER MOISTURE WRAPPING BACK IN TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...WITH MODEST THETA E ADVECTION AGAIN. SOME MENTION OF SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE SHORT TERM AND BEYOND. OTHER DYNAMIC SUPPORT AFTER TONIGHT INCLUDES 850 TO 500 MB QVECTOR CONVERGENCE MOST OF TUESDAY...SLIGHT WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND GOOD AGAIN AS PER AVN WEDNESDAY NIGHT. 850 TO 500 MB DIFFERENTIAL PVA BEST TUESDAY AFTERNOON...WITH BEST 850 MB WARM ADVECTION TENDING WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. LEFT EXIT REGION OF 300 MB JET GIVES SUPPORTING LIFT TUESDAY AFTERNOON...WITH MODEST 1000 TO 700 MB FRONTOGENETICAL FORCING INTO TUESDAY EVENING. AS FOR THUNDER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...WOULD BE HARD TO OMIT MENTION DURING DAY...GIVEN COLD AIR ALOFT FOSTERING 850 TO 500 MB LAPSE RATES AROUND 6 DEGREES C/KM AND SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE LIFTED INDICES AND A FEW HUNDRED JOULES OF CAPE EACH DAY. EXTENDED PERIODS...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS FINALLY IN RATHER GOOD OVERALL AGREEMENT IN HANDLING OF MEANDERING CUTOFF LOW AROUND LAKES REGION AND OHIO VALLEY...WITH SURFACE REFLECTION WOBBLING AROUND BENEATH LOW CENTER ALOFT....THOUGH CANADIAN GLOBAL TENDING FARTHER SOUTH THAN MODEL CONSENSUS. ETAXX AT SURFACE HAS NOW COME AROUND CLOSER TO CONSENSUS SOLUTION...AS PER MRF IDEA OF LATE...THOUGH WARMER THICKNESSES...AND QUITE CLOSELY MIRRORS THE MRF 500 MB POSITIONS. ETAXX AND MRF BOTH SPIT OUT MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION DAILY THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY...AND MRF STILL SHOWS SURFACE TROUGH HANGING AROUND AT LEAST UNTIL MONDAY MORNING...WHILE AGAIN DELAYING SURFACE RIDGE PROGRESS INTO LAKES REGION. SO WILL KEEP SHOWERS MENTION GOING THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND EVEN CHANCE OF LINGERING SHOWERS INTO MEMORIAL DAY MONDAY...SUPPORTED BY RESPECTABLE 850 TO 700 MB ETAXX/MRF MOISTURE FIELDS AND ETAXX OCCASIONAL LOW TO MID LEVEL OMEGA LIFT THROUGH THE PERIOD. ETAXX CAPE PROGGED A FEW HUNDRED JOULES EACH DAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WITH MRF/ETAXX 850 TO 500 MB LAPSE RATES FLUCTUATING AROUND 6 DEGREES C/KM...SO HARD TO RULE OUT DIURNAL THUNDER2. .DTX...NONE. DWD
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-220200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 700 PM EDT MON MAY 21 2001 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 266 HAS EXPIRED... DISPATCHERS...PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR EMERGENCY MANAGERS IMMEDIATELY. TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 266...EARLIER IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN...HAS EXPIRED. THE WATCH HAD BEEN IN EFFECT BASICALLY FOR THOSE AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF M 59...INCLUDING SUCH COMMUNITIES AS BAD AXE... FLINT...HOWELL...PORT HURON...AND MT CLEMENS. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OR TORNADOES ARE NO LONGER EXPECTED...THOUGH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS ARE STILL POSSIBLE. THE WARM FRONT THAT HELPED TO SPAWN THE SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON WILL LIFT TO NORTH OF THE THUMB BY MIDNIGHT. SPOTTER ACTIVATION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT IS NOT EXPECTED. TO REPEAT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OR TORNADOES ARE NO LONGER EXPECTED ANYWHERE IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN TONIGHT. THE TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT EARLIER HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET... FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. DWD
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...ADDED LAPEER COUNTY REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
710 PM EDT MON MAY 21 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0110 PM SOUTH LYON MI TORNADO
05/21/01 OAKLAND REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC
0130 PM MILFORD MI TORNADO
05/21/01 OAKLAND BARN COLLAPSED
MINOR DAMAGE TO DAY CARE
NEAR KENSINGTON PARK
PUBLIC REPORT
0234 PM HARTLAND MI TORNADO
05/21/01 LIVINGSTON AT M 59 AND US 23
MAJESTIC GOLF COURSE
TREES UPROOTED
CARS AND GOLF CARTS TOSSED
LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORT
0246 PM HARTLAND MI TORNADO
05/21/01 LIVINGSTON US 23 AND CLYDE ROAD
REPORTED BY SPOTTER
0252 PM 2 W FENTON MI TORNADO
05/21/01 GENESEE REPORTED BY SPOTTER
OWEN ROAD AND US 23
0506 PM 1 W HADLEY MI TORNADO
05/21/01 LAPEER SPOTTER REPORTED
TREES DOWN
0509 PM 3 N HADLEY MI TORNADO
05/21/01 LAPEER BARN ROOF DAMAGED
STORAGE SILO AND HORSE
TRAILER TIPPED OVER
SPOTTER REPORT
ZOLTOWSKIPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED SOUTH LYON TIME
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
716 PM EDT MON MAY 21 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0123 PM SOUTH LYON MI TORNADO
05/21/01 OAKLAND REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC
0130 PM MILFORD MI TORNADO
05/21/01 OAKLAND BARN COLLAPSED
MINOR DAMAGE TO DAY CARE
NEAR KENSINGTON PARK
PUBLIC REPORT
0234 PM HARTLAND MI TORNADO
05/21/01 LIVINGSTON AT M 59 AND US 23
MAJESTIC GOLF COURSE
TREES UPROOTED
CARS AND GOLF CARTS TOSSED
LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORT
0246 PM HARTLAND MI TORNADO
05/21/01 LIVINGSTON US 23 AND CLYDE ROAD
REPORTED BY SPOTTER
0252 PM 2 W FENTON MI TORNADO
05/21/01 GENESEE REPORTED BY SPOTTER
OWEN ROAD AND US 23
0506 PM 1 W HADLEY MI TORNADO
05/21/01 LAPEER SPOTTER REPORTED
TREES DOWN
0509 PM 3 N HADLEY MI TORNADO
05/21/01 LAPEER BARN ROOF DAMAGED
STORAGE SILO AND HORSE
TRAILER TIPPED OVER
SPOTTER REPORT
ZOLTOWSKIThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Huron River near Hamburg rose above flood stage of 6 feet at midnight on the 21st. The river would hover just above flood stage for the rest of the month, with flooding continuing into June.
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, May 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: 5245994.