3 marine thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 Gaylord, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 12, 2:50 PM EST, 5 hours 53 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI 350 PM EDT MON AUG 12 2002 LATE AFTERNOON SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWED COLD FRONT PUSHING ACROSS MN/IA...WITH PLENTY OF WARMTH/MOISTURE/INSTABILITY IN PLACE OUT AHEAD OF BOUNDARY. FRONT IS FORECAST TO PUSH SLOWLY EAST OVER NEXT TWO DAYS...CROSSING FORECAST AREA TUE NIGHT. CHANCES FOR CONVECTION THROUGH WED...ALONG WITH TIMING FRONTAL PASSAGE REPRESENT MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS. TONIGHT...COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO PUSH E INTO CENTRAL WI. THIS... TOGETHER WITH DEW POINTS NEAR 70F...LI/S AROUND -8...AND REMNANTS OF WARM FRONT ACROSS THE STRAITS REGION WILL MAKE SCATTERED CONVECTION A POSSIBILITY MOST ANYWHERE. BEST COVERAGE WILL LIKELY REMAIN NW OF A HTL-APN LINE. TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT...500 MB TROUGH OVER WESTERN GREAT LAKES WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY OPEN AND LIFT NE -- AIDED BY SHARP HEIGHT FALLS OVER SW CANADA. BEST LOW LEVEL THERMAL CONTRAST ACROSS COLD FRONT WILL LIFT NE INTO CANADA. THIS...COUPLED WITH FRONT BECOMING PROGRESSIVELY MORE PARALLEL TO UPPER FLOW...WILL CAUSE BOUNDARY TO SLOW ITS EASTWARD MOVEMENT (AS SUPPORTED BY ETA RUN TO RUN TRENDS). BY 00Z WED...FRONT IS FORECAST TO EXTEND FROM SSM TO GRB -- THEN BY 12Z WED FROM APN TO HTL. MODELS ARE IN REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT REGARDING FRONTAL MOVEMENT -- THOUGH IN TYPICAL FASHION THE AVN HAS OVERDONE CONVECTIVELY ENHANCED WAVE ALONG FRONT. ORGANIZED SW INFLOW AHEAD OF BOUNDARY -- WITH 20-30 KT 850 MB WINDS -- WILL HELP TO MAINTAIN A GOOD DEAL OF MOISTURE ACROSS REGION (850 MB THETA-E RIDGING...PWAT/S AROUND 1.75 IN...AND 850 MB DEW POINTS OF +12-14C). MOISTURE...APPROACHING FRONT...AND ORGANIZED AREA OF 850/500 MB Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH APPROACH OF UPPER TROUGH... WILL KEEP GOOD RISK OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS GOING. SEVERE THREAT TUE AND TUE NIGHT WILL HAVE TO BE CLOSELY MONITORED...AS 35-40 KT 500 MB WINDS ROTATE AROUND UPPER TROUGH -- PLACING FORECAST AREA IN FAVORED RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF JET. SEVERE THREAT WILL LIKELY HINGE ON OUR ABILITY TO DESTABILIZE VIA INSOLATION. MODEL SOUNDINGS -- ASSUMING 80/69 -- SUPPORT BETTER THAN 2000 J/KG OF CAPE. HOWEVER...CLOUD COVER (CONVECTIVE DEBRIS) COULD EASILY NEGATE THIS. LASTLY...WIND FIELDS (CORFIDI VECTORS) SUPPORT POTENTIAL FOR SLOW MOVING STORMS PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. WEDNESDAY...WEAKENING COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO EXIT FORECAST AREA EARLY WED MORNING...WITH DRIER AIR SLOWLY FILTERING IN FROM THE WEST DURING THE DAY. WILL KEEP RISK OF SHOWERS GOING OVER NE LOWER THROUGH THE MORNING -- PER GOING FORECAST. HOWEVER...WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR PRECIPITATION CHANCES TO LINGER LONGER...ESPECIALLY IF FRONT SLOWS FURTHER. WILL TREND FORECAST TOWARD PARTLY SUNNY ALL AREAS BY WED AFTERNOON. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...REMNANTS OF FRONT/TROUGH WILL SLIP EAST...AS NEXT FRONT BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE OVER NORTHERN PLAINS. IN FACT...SW FLOW IS FORECAST TO QUICKLY REESTABLISH ITSELF AHEAD OF THIS NEXT FRONT IMMEDIATELY WED NIGHT AND THU. MOISTURE...FRONTAL SUPPORT...AND UPPER DYNAMICS WILL BE LACKING DURING THIS TIMING HOWEVER...SO A GENERAL PARTLY CLOUDY FORECAST APPEARS IN ORDER WED NIGHT AND THU. FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT THAT BROAD...LOW AMPLITUDE UPPER TROUGH WILL EVOLVE BY WEEKS END OVER SOUTH CENTRAL CANADA. NORTHERN PART OF U.S. -- FROM THE NORTHERN ROCKIES EAST TO UPPER GREAT LAKES -- WILL MARK SOUTHERN EXTENT OF THIS UPPER TROUGH. A SERIES OF SHORT WAVE TROUGHS ARE FORECAST TO ROTATE THROUGH TROUGH...WITH RESULTING SURFACE TROUGHING TO PROVIDE FOCUS FOR CONVECTION. GULF SHOULD BE WIDE OPEN DURING THIS TIME PERIOD -- WITH AMPLE MOISTURE LIKELY TO BE IN PLACE. MODELS ARE HAVING A TOUGH TIME NAILING DOWN LOCATION OF INDIVIDUAL SHORT WAVES...PER EXAMINATION OF MRF/ECMWF/GEM/UKMET...MRF ENSEMBLES... AND LATEST 12Z AVN. THE OPERATIONAL MRF SUGGESTS THAT FIRST TROUGH WILL PUSH THROUGH SAT...WITH THE NEXT BY LATE SUN AND MON (THOUGH MRF IS NOT EXHIBITING MUCH RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY). AT THIS TIME...WILL NOT GET TOO PRECISE -- AND SIMPLY INCLUDE A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS STARTING SAT AND CONTINUING THROUGH MON (THOUGH THERE COULD BE A BREAK DURING THIS TIME). TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY AVERAGE CLOSE TO SEASONAL NORMALS. .APX...NONE. SMITH
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD, MI
844 PM EDT MON AUG 12 2002
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0615 PM VANDERBILT MI WIND DAMAGE
08/12/02 OTSEGO ROOF BLOWN OFF GAS STATION.
VANDERBILT EXIT SIGN BLOWN
OVER ON I-75. NUMEROUS
TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT
0630 PM EAST JORDAN MI .75 IN HAIL
08/12/02 CHARLEVOIX REPORTED BY PUBLIC
0630 PM WEST BRANCH MI WIND DAMAGE
08/12/02 OGEMAW TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT
0725 PM TOMAHAWK CREEK FLOODING MI WIND DAMAGE
08/12/02 PRESQUE ISLE TREES DOWN AROUND
CAMPGROUND
REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT
0800 PM SKIDWAY LAKE MI WIND DAMAGE
08/12/02 OGEMAW TREES DOWN
REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENTThe NCL Michigan radar (KAPX), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:43 UTC.
3 marine thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Lake Huron in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather history
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: 5316760, 5316761, 5316762.