High Wind in Michigan, October 25 to 26, 2001

Name: High Wind in Michigan, October 25 to 26, 2001
Start: 2001-10-25T14:15
End: 2001-10-26T08:00
Location: Michigan

October 25 to 26, 2001 · NWS MQT · 6 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 MQT wrote it up.

A deepening trough over the plains allowed very cold Canadian air to pour into the Western Great Lakes Region. A rapidly deepening low pressure center ahead of the trough crossed Lake Superior on the 24th of October. Northwest winds behind the low increased significantly on the 25th. Sheriff's departments reported numerous trees down across Gogebic, Ontonagon and Keweenaw Counties and the Houghton County Road Commission reported trees blown down between Calumet and Kearsarge. A spotter at Little Girls Point in Gogebic County estimated winds in excess of 60 mph. His wind speed indicator only goes to 60 mph. The automated observation site at Copper Harbor reported gusts to 55 mph and the marine observation site at Ontonagon reported gusts to 50 mph. The airport at Ironwood recorded 45 mph gusts.

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 Marquette, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 25, 11:10 AM EST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 25, 11:10 AM EST, 3 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI
1210 PM EDT THU OCT 25 2001

UPDATE CONCERN WITH SNOW AND WINDS WITH INTENSE FALL STORM.

DEEP SURFACE LOW OVER LAKE SUPERIOR STACKED UNDER CUTOFF UPPER LOW.
RADARS/METARS SHOW MAINLY SNOW FALLING IN COLD CONVEYOR ACROSS
NORTHERN MINNESOTA INTO UPPER MICHIGAN. WARM AIR WRAPPING INTO THE
SYSTEM CAUSING A CHANGE-OVER TO RAIN OVER EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN AND
NORTHERN ONTARIO. SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW OFF LAKES MICHIGAN AND SUPERIOR
ALSO ADDING WARMTH TO HELP MIX PRECIP. RUC/ETA CONTINUE TO SHOW THE
SURFACE LOW TRACKING TOWARD EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN TODAY...ACTUALLY
BRINGING AN INCREASE IN 850MB TEMPS/1000-850MB THICKNESSES. COLDER
AIR/LOWER THICKNESSES OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN CWA...WITH SPOTTERS NEAR
IRONWOOD/WAKEFIELD/ROCKLAND REPORTING 1-3 INCHES THIS MORNING WITH
HEAVIER BURSTS OF SNOW. THE GROUND IS STILL QUITE WARM...WITH SOIL
TEMPERATURES NEAR THE SURFACE IN THE LOW 40S AT KMQT. FURTHER UP THE
KEWEENAW...MODELS INDICATE HIGHER THICKNESSES CLOSER TO THE LOW
WORKING INTO THE AREA. KCMX SWITCHING PHASES BETWEEN RAIN/SNOW.
GENERALLY VFR/MVFR RAIN AND IFR SNOW...INDICATING HEAVIER BURSTS ARE
OVERCOMING THE WARM LAYER. WILL MENTION A MIX OF RAIN/SNOW...HITTING
THE SNOW THE HARDEST IN THE WEST WITH COLDER AIR. LOW TRACKS CLOSER
TO THE EAST...KEEPING MORE RAIN WITH SNOW OCCASIONALLY MIX IN WITH
HEAVIER BURSTS. WITH WARMING TEMPERATURES AND THE WARM GROUND
LIMITING ACCUMULATIONS...WILL CUT BACK SNOW AMOUNTS BY A COUPLE
INCHES. WILL KEEP WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE WESTERN CWA WITH
COLDER AIR AND BETTER ISENTROPIC LIFT TODAY...AND LES TONIGHT.
ACCUMULATIONS BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA CENTRAL AND EAST WITH WARMER
AIR...BUT WILL KEEP WATCH FOR TONIGHT/FRIDAY.

WIND IS THE NEXT STORY. MODELS CONTINUE TO TREND BACK WITH THE
TIMING. JUDGING FROM UPSTREAM OBSERVATIONS AND THE CURRENT LOW
TRACK/PRESSURE FALLS...WILL BUMP BACK TIMING OF HIGH WINDS. THIS
AFTERNOON STILL LOOKS GOOD OVER THE WESTERN FOUR COUNTIES...BUT WILL
TIME BACK TO LAKE THIS AFTERNOON FOR BARAGA/IRON. WITH LOW TRACKING
CLOSER TO THE SOUTHERN SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR...WINDS LOOK TO
INCREASE TO ADVISORY CRITERIA FOR TONIGHT BUT STAY BELOW IF THIS
AFTERNOON FROM MARQUETTE EASTWARD. WIND SPEEDS STILL LOOK GOOD BASED
ON SURFACE/VWP PROFILE DATA AND EXPECTED LAKE AND ISALLOBARIC
ENHANCEMENTS.

ON AN ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE...CURRENT PLANS ARE TO RESTART THE
EXPERIMENTAL SNOWFALL FORECAST GRAPHIC ON NOVEMBER 1ST. HOWEVER WITH
THIS SIGNIFICANT EARLY SEASON STORM...WE WILL ISSUE THE GRAPHICAL
FORECASTS FOR THE DURATION OF THE EVENT. THE FORECASTS WILL BEGIN ON
A ROUTINE BASIS STARTING NOVEMBER 1ST. THREE 12-HOUR FORECAST
GRAPHICS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR INTERNET SITE:
       HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/MQT

.MQT...WINTER STORM WARNING THIS AFTN/TNGT MIZ002-004-009-SRN MIZ003
       HIGH WIND WARNING THIS AFTN/TNGT MIZ001>003-009
       HIGH WIND ADVISORY LATE THIS AFTN/TNGT MIZ004-010-011
       HIGH WIND ADVISORY TNGT MIZ005>007-012>14
       WINTER STORM WATCH TNGT/FRI MIZ005>7-014
       STORM WARNING LAKE SUPERIOR.

JHB

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Gogebic

When: October 25, 2:15 PM EST to 7:35 PM EST
Where: Gogebic forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.496, -89.796 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Gogebic

When: October 25, 3:50 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Gogebic forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.496, -89.796 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Ontonagon

When: October 25, 4:54 PM EST to 5:20 PM EST
Where: Ontonagon forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.778, -89.305 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Houghton

When: October 25, 5:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Houghton forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 46.992, -88.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Ontonagon

When: October 26, 12:56 AM EST
Where: Ontonagon forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.778, -89.305 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Keweenaw

When: October 26, 6:49 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Keweenaw forecast zone
Measured: 47 kt (54 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.283, -88.212 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Michigan in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Michigan, October 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: 5269608, 5269610, 5269609, 5269611, 5269607, 5269606.