Thunderstorms developed early in the morning along a frontal boundary that extended from central Lower Michigan across the thumb. The strongest storms during the morning occurred in Sanilac county.
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.
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 episode as NWS DTX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed early in the morning along a frontal boundary that extended from central Lower Michigan across the thumb. The strongest storms during the morning occurred in Sanilac county. Although the front exited the region later in the morning, a warm and humid airmass led to additional thunderstorm development during the afternoon across eastern Michigan. A few of these storms produced large hail and damaging winds. The storms also caused hundreds of power outages throughout eastern Michigan.
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 Jun 22, 1:45 AM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 245 AM EDT SAT JUN 22 2002 VERY ACTIVE DAY YESTERDAY ACROSS THE CWA. VERY IMPRESSIVE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES ASSOCIATED WITH THE STORMS FROM 17 TO 19Z. LAPS DATA DID SHOW CAPES OVER 3500 J/KG OVER THE DETROIT METRO AREA (16Z)...WHICH LEAD TO THE SEVERE WEATHER. FOR A SECOND DAY IN A ROW...THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF THE CWA WAS ABLE TO HIT 90 DEGREES...BEFORE THE THUNDERSTORMS ARRIVED. WILL WE SEE 90 AGAIN TODAY? HOW MUCH THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE AROUND? FRONTAL BOUNDARY CURRENTLY DRAPED ACROSS THE NORTHERN CWA...EXTENDING WESTWARD INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. CONVECTION ACROSS LAKE MICHIGAN WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK EAST ALONG THE BOUNDARY THIS MORNING. 00Z ETA SHOWING GOOD 700 MB OMEGA ACROSS THE NORTHERN THUMB BETWEEN 9 AND 15Z. THE BIG QUESTION TODAY IS WHETHER OR NOT ANY OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WILL TRIGGER STORMS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN CWA. 00Z ETA/AVN CONTINUING TO SHOW A PRETTY UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE CWA...LIS AS LOW AS -7 C AT 18Z...ALONG WITH CAPES AROUND 2000 J/KG. BASED ON THIS INSTABILITY...I WILL CARRY CHANCE POPS THROUGH THE DAY. BASED ON WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY...I WOULD NOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM (SOUTH). PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES AROUND 1.7 INCHES ONCE AGAIN. SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS COULD CAUSE A FEW FLOODING PROBLEMS. THERE DOES APPEAR TO BE SOME WARMING TAKING PLACE AROUND 700 MB...WHICH WOULD HELP LIMIT THE CAPES SOMEWHAT. SOME MORNING SUNSHINE (SOUTH)...THUS A FEW LOCATIONS SHOULD BE ABLE TO HIT 90 DEGREES...MUCH LIKE YESTERDAY. WILL LEAVE A 30 POP IN FOR EARLY TONIGHT. ANY LEFTOVER STORMS SHOULD DIE VERY QUICKLY AROUND 00Z. SURFACE GRADIENT TIGHTENS UP OVERNIGHT...THUS NOT EXPECTING DENSE FOG. SUNDAY IS SHAPING UP TO BE A HOT ONE...AS WIDESPREAD 90+ DEGREE READINGS ARE EXPECTED. 925 MB WINDS WILL BE IN THE 10 TO 20 KNOT RANGE OUT OF THE WEST. THUS...NOT TOO CONCERNED WITH ANY LAKE BREEZES DEVELOPING. 850 TEMPS WARM UP CLOSE TO 19 C (PER ETA). PLENTY OF SUNSHINE AS THE CWA WILL BE UNDER GENERAL SUBSIDENCE THROUGHOUT THE DAY...WITH ETA BUFKIT SOUNDINGS INDICATING GOOD WARMING OCCURRING BETWEEN 750-600 MB (CAPPING ANY CONVECTION). THERE WILL BE A FRONTAL BOUNDARY JUST NORTH OF SAGINAW BAY DURING THE AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...ETA BUFKIT FOR MBS SHOWING A SUBSIDENCE INVERSION AT 850 MB. IT JUST LOOKS TOO DRY FOR ANY CONVECTION TO DEVELOP. SUNDAY NIGHT...500 MB RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO SIT OVER NORTHERN INDIANA/OHIO. WEAK SURFACE GRADIENT OVER THE CWA...THUS FOG MAY BE MORE OF A FACTOR. AS FOR MONDAY...AVN/ETAXX/CANADIAN SHOWING 500 MB RIDGE OVER SOUTHERN MICHIGAN...WITH GENERAL SUBSIDENCE ONCE AGAIN. A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BE LURKING NEAR SAGINAW BAY. WILL GO WITH A DRY FORECAST...SUPPORTED BY THE AVN MOS POPS. NO CHANGES MADE BEYOND MONDAY. .DTX...NONE. SF
The Detroit radar (KDTX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:07 UTC.
3 lightning, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Trained spotters reported numerous tree limbs ranging from 3 to 9 inches in diameter were broken off trees due to thunderstorm winds.
Lightning struck a barn in Watertown Township and set it on fire.
Lightning struck a barn and caused minor damage.
Lightning struck an oak tree. Parts of the tree landed on a trailer and caused minor damage.
Trained spotters reported that thunderstorm winds blew several large tree limbs down.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, June 2002
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: 5302616, 5302672, 5302673, 5302671, 5302674, 5302670.