Lightning Strike in Michigan, September 23, 2001

Name: Lightning Strike in Michigan, September 23, 2001
Start: 2001-09-23T19:00
End: 2001-09-23T19:00
Location: Michigan

September 23, 2001 · NWS DTX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck a large historic barn, built in 1935, igniting a fire. The barn quickly burned to the ground.

Where it happened

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.

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: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 DTX wrote it up.

Lightning struck a large historic barn, built in 1935, igniting a fire. The barn quickly burned to the ground.

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 Detroit, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 23, 5:07 PM EST, 1 hour 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 23, 5:07 PM EST, 1 hour 53 minutes before

SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
607 PM EDT SUN SEP 23 2001

WILL SHORTLY UPDATE TO REFRESH WORDING FOR CURRENT TRENDS.

.DTX...GALE WARNING...THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING...LAKE HURON.
       GALE WARNING...MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...
                                             LAKE ST. CLAIR

DWD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 23, 4:27 PM EST, 2 hours 33 minutes before

MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-240400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
527 PM EDT SUN SEP 23 2001

DISPATCHERS...PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR EMERGENCY MANAGER IMMEDIATELY.

THREAT...
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THIS EVENING OVER ALL OF SOUTHEAST
MICHIGAN. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL BE SOUTH OF I 69 BETWEEN 530 PM
AND 9 PM. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WILL APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS.

DISCUSSION...
A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE
THROUGH LOWER MICHIGAN TONIGHT. SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
WILL SPREAD FROM WEST TO EAST ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR ALONG AND SOUTH OF
I 69 BETWEEN 530 PM AND 9 PM. THEY WILL BE CAPABLE OF MARBLE SIZE
HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AS THEY MOVE NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORM THREAT WILL END IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN BY
MIDNIGHT...BUT RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AS
COLD AIR MOVES IN BEHIND THE COLD FRONT.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING.

OUTLOOK MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
A STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT BEHIND THE COLD FRONT WILL MAINTAIN A
RISK FOR HIGH WINDS ON MONDAY. OTHERWISE...NO WEATHER HAZARDS ARE
EXPECTED THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

BT/OKEEFE

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 87 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:06 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Monroe

When: September 23, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Monroe County, 1 mi SW of Lambertville
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.921, -83.494 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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, September 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: 5266948.