Tornado and Hail in Michigan, July 28, 2002

Name: Tornado and Hail in Michigan, July 28, 2002
Start: 2002-07-28T04:55
End: 2002-07-28T13:29
Location: Michigan

July 28, 2002 · NWS DTX · 11 events in 5 counties and zones

Scattered thunderstorms occurred very early in the morning on the 28th around Saginaw Bay. These storms laid out an outflow boundary.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: $350,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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.

Scattered thunderstorms occurred very early in the morning on the 28th around Saginaw Bay. These storms laid out an outflow boundary. This boundary focused the development of additional thunderstorms later in the morning. High temperatures and humidity provided enough instability for some of these storms to become severe. The strongest storms developed near the border of Oakland and Lapeer counties. These storms evolved into a supercell as they moved into Macomb county. This supercell caused considerable wind damage and even spawned a short-lived tornado.

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 Jul 28, 3:53 AM EST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 28, 3:53 AM EST, 1 hour 2 minutes before

SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
453 AM EDT SUN JUL 28 2002

CURRENTLY CHASING THE CONVECTION ALONG THE SURGE OF DEEP HIGH
THETA-E AIR OUT OF THE FORECAST AREA.  ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY ACROSS
CENTRAL LOWER CONTINUES ITS TREK NORTHEAST.  WILL CARRY NUMEROUS
WORDING ACROSS THE NORTH TO COVER CURRENT ACTIVITY.  OTHERWISE...
SKIES ARE CLEARING ACROSS THE SOUTH SO WILL HAVE MOSTLY SUNNY
CONDITIONS FOR THE MORNING, BEFORE THE CU FIELD DEVELOPS WITH THE
HEATING OF THE DAY.  SPEAKING OF THE HEAT OF THE DAY, WITH HIGHS
EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 90, IF NOT A COUPLE DEGREES HIGHER, AND
DEWPOINTS IN THE 70-75F RANGE- HEAT INDICES WILL CLIMB TO AROUND
100.  WILL HOLD ON A HEAT ADVISORY FOR NOW, BUT IF THE AREA SEES A
LONGER PERIOD OF SUN THAN CURRENTLY EXPECTED, ADVISORY CRITERIA IS
NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION.

SYNOPTIC-SCALE BOUNDARY IS PROGGED TO HANG AROUND SOUTHERN LOWER
MICHIGAN THROUGH THE DAY AS ANOTHER SURGE OF HIGH THETA-E AIR AT 850
AND 700MB MOVES IN FROM THE SOUTHWEST IN ADVANCE OF A WEAK
SHORTWAVE.  THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF THE LOWER PENINSULA WILL BE UNDER
THE INFLUENCE OF THE DIRECT THERMAL CIRCULATION SUPPORTED BY THE
RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION TO A 300MB SPEED MAX TRAVERSING THE CENTRAL
LAKES REGION THIS AFTERNOON.  THIS IN COMBINATION WITH THE
QUASI-STATIONARY SYNOPTIC-SCALE BOUNDARY AND PRE-EXISTING OUTFLOW
BOUNDARIES FROM THIS MORNING/S CONVECTION SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO AID
ADDITIONAL CONVECTIVE INITIATION WITH THE HEAT OF THE DAY.  ETA
HOURLY SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT CAPES WILL CLIMB INTO THE 2500 J/KG
RANGE ACROSS THE CWFA WITH THE MOIST LAYER EXTENDING TO 700MB AND
SUBSTANTIAL DRYING ABOVE THAT.  TEMPS AT 700MB SHOULD STAY BELOW
+10C KEEPING THE REGION NORTH OF THE EDGE OF THE CAPPING INVERSION
THAT SETUP ACROSS THE MID-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY YESTERDAY.  THE DRY AIR
ALOFT IN COMBINATION WITH THE INCREASING MOMENTUM IN THE PROFILE
COULD SUPPORT A FEW SEVERE CELLS ONCE AGAIN TODAY, WITH WIND BEING
THE PRIMARY THREAT, AS THE FREEZING LEVEL WILL STILL BE AROUND
15KFT.  THE HODOGRAPH IS REASONABLY STRAIGHT WITH MODEST SHEAR IN
THE LOWEST 2KM, LENDING TO SOME ORGANIZATION BUT MORE OF THE SHORT
LINEAR VARIETY.

WILL ALSO HAVE TO KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE UPSTREAM AS ADDITIONAL
ORGANIZED CONVECTION IS EXPECTED ACROSS IOWA AND MINNESOTA DURING
THE EVENING, WHICH MAY MOVE INTO THE SOUTHERN LAKES REGION
OVERNIGHT.  INSTABILITY ACROSS THE REGION WOULD CERTAIN SUPPORT
CONTINUED NOCTURNAL DEVELOPMENT.  SO, WITH CONTINUE THE CHANCE FOR
SHOWERS AND STORMS TONIGHT.

THE BEST CHANCE WILL STILL COME MONDAY, WHEN THE STRONGER SHORTWAVE
OVER THE ROCKIES ARRIVES, WITH THE ASSOCIATED SURFACE COOL FRONT.
THE SURFACE BOUNDARY SHOULD PROVIDE AMPLE BOUNDARY LAYER CONVERGENCE
AND SHEAR TO SUPPORT ORGANIZED CONVECTION ALONG AND AHEAD OF IT
MONDAY AFTERNOON, MOST LIKELY A SQUALL LINE.  THE THERMODYNAMICS
WILL ALSO BE FAVORABLE FOR STRONG UPDRAFTS, WITH CAPES PROGGED TO
AROUND 2500 J/KG AGAIN. THUS, WILL CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE LIKELY POPS.

NO CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED.

.DTX...NONE.

MANN

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 28, 3:00 AM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes before

MIZ075-082-083-280900-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
400 AM EDT SUN JUL 28 2002

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 541 HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE...

DISPATCHERS...PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR EMERGENCY MANAGERS IMMEDIATELY.

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE MOVED EAST OF THE WATCH AREA AND HAVE WEAKENED.
THEREFORE THE TORNADO WATCH THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR
WASHTENAW...LENAWEE...AND MONROE COUNTIES HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

CONSIDINE

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:54 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 thunderstorm wind, 3 lightning, 1 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Huron

When: July 28, 4:55 AM EST
Where: Huron County, 3 mi W of Bad Axe
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.800, -83.067

A spotter reported several large tree limbs blown down.

Lightning, Huron

When: July 28, 6:15 AM EST
Where: Huron County, Bad Axe
Property damage: $300,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.910, -82.855 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A newspaper reported that lightning struck a meat packing plant and started a fire, causing serious damage.

Lightning, Midland

When: July 28, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Midland County, Midland
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.647, -84.388 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A newspaper reported that lightning struck a telephone line, knocking power out to thousands of Midland County residents.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lapeer

When: July 28, 12:20 PM EST
Where: Lapeer County, Dryden
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.950, -83.117

Law enforcement reported several large trees blown down.

Hail, Macomb

When: July 28, 12:42 PM EST
Where: Macomb County, 3 mi N of Romeo
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.850, -83.017

Thunderstorm Wind, Macomb

When: July 28, 12:42 PM EST
Where: Macomb County, 6 mi SW of Romeo
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.733, -83.100

Spotters reported several large trees and tree limbs down.

Lightning, Macomb

When: July 28, 12:55 PM EST
Where: Macomb County, Armada
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 42.673, -82.910 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A newspaper reported that a home in Armada Township was struck by lightning and caught on fire.

Tornado, Macomb

When: July 28, 1:02 PM EST to 1:05 PM EST
Where: Macomb County, 2 mi W of New Haven Macomb Arp
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.733, -82.917

Trained spotters reported a brief tornado touchdown 2 miles west of New Haven. A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed tree damage consistent with an F0 tornado.

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Clair

When: July 28, 1:27 PM EST
Where: St. Clair County, Algonac
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.617, -82.533

Algonac city police reported several large tree limbs blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Clair

When: July 28, 1:27 PM EST
Where: St. Clair County, 2 mi N of Algonac
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.650, -82.533

Law enforcement reported several large trees down near Algonac State Park.

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Clair

When: July 28, 1:29 PM EST
Where: St. Clair County, Port Huron
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 42.983, -82.417

A newspaper reported that a large tree was blown over in thunderstorms winds and landed next to an apartment building, tearing the electrical service box from the building.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Michigan in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Michigan, 2002 Warnings in Michigan, July 2002

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: 5303965, 5303975, 5303971, 5303966, 5303967, 5303970, 5303973, 5303968, 5303969, 5303972, 5303974.