Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 31, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 31, 2002
Start: 2002-05-31T00:20
End: 2002-05-31T03:38
Location: Michigan

May 31, 2002 · NWS DTX · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: $100,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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.

A slow moving cold front moved into the western Great Lakes region, while a very warm and humid airmass was situated over southeast Michigan. During the night of the 30th and into the early morning hours of the 31st, an upper level disturbance moved ahead of the cold front into Lower Michigan. This disturbance triggered some late night thunderstorms. These storms were concentrated mainly over the Genesee and Saginaw Valleys as well as much of the thumb region. Hail and severe wind gusts were associated with some of these storms.

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 May 30, 8:35 PM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 30, 8:35 PM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes before

SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
935 PM EDT THU MAY 30 2002

PREVIOUS UPDATE WAS INTENDED TO COVER THE LULL IN STORM ACTIVITY
OVER SE MICHIGAN LATE THIS EVENING. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS HAVE
BEEN TRYING TO MAKE IT OVER LAKE MICHIGAN AFTER FIRING WITH STRONG
DAYTIME HEATING IN THE LOW LEVEL MOIST AXIS OVER WISCONSIN. THESE
STILL APPEAR TO BE DIURNALLY DRIVEN AS THE MAIN UPPER FORCING IS
STILL TO THE NORTHWEST.

DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS THE LOW LEVEL MOIST AXIS WILL MOVE INTO
LOWER MICHIGAN AS THE UPPER WAVE DRIVES THE PREFRONTAL TROF AND COLD
FRONT TO THE SOUTH AND EAST. SYNOPTIC SCALE LIFT LOOKS STRONG ENOUGH
IN THE LATEST MODEL DATA TO MAINTAIN THE ONGOING CONVECTION OR GET
ANOTHER ROUND GOING ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT AND INTO SE
MICHIGAN. 850 TO 500 MB LAPSE RATES WILL BE AROUND 6.5 C/KM WITH 850
LI RUNNING NEAR -3C BY 06Z, AND THERE DOES APPEAR TO BE AN
INCREASING WIND FIELD TO ORGANIZE SOME LONGER-LIVED CONVECTION. THE
18Z ETA SHOWS 0-3 KM SHEAR TO BE AROUND 30 M/S IN OUR AREA OVERNIGHT.

WITH THE SLIGHT RISK AREA JUST TO OUR WEST, PLAN TO CONTINUE CALLING
FOR STRONG STORMS AND HOLD OFF ON ANY SEVERE MENTION FOR NOW.
PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE STRONG WIND GUSTS TRANSFERED TO THE SURFACE
THROUGH A RELATIVELY WARM BOUNDARY LAYER.

.DTX...NONE.

BT

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 30, 7:07 PM EST, 5 hours 13 minutes before

MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-311000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
807 PM EDT THU MAY 30 2002

...SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL STATEMENT FOR SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN...

DISPATCHERS...PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR EMERGENCY MANAGERS IMMEDIATELY.

THREAT...
WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING WILL BECOME NUMEROUS
AGAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. SOME OF THESE STORMS
WILL BE STRONG...BUT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED AT THIS
TIME. PEAK WIND GUSTS AROUND 40 MPH AND HAIL NEAR ONE HALF INCH WILL
BE THE MAIN THREAT FROM THE STRONGEST STORMS.

DISCUSSION...
A WARM AND HUMID AIRMASS WILL LINGER OVER SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
TONIGHT. THIS WILL COMBINE WITH A COLD FRONT MOVING IN FROM
WISCONSIN TO FUEL THUNDERSTORMS.

WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME MORE NUMEROUS IN THE
SAGINAW VALLEY SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT...AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES INTO
LOWER MICHIGAN. THE STORMS WILL INCREASE IN A SIMILAR FASHION TO THE
SOUTH AND EAST DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS...MOVING SOUTHEAST
AROUND 30 MPH. THE ACTIVITY WILL REACH FLINT AROUND 2 AM...AND THE
DETROIT AREA AROUND 4 AM.

THE COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ANY REMAINING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO
OUR EAST BY MID MORNING FRIDAY.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TONIGHT.

OUTLOOK FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...
THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY MORNING...MAINLY SOUTH OF
INTERSTATE 69. OTHERWISE...SKIES WILL BE MOSTLY SUNNY WITH NEAR
NORMAL TEMPERATURES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS...FOR
THE LATEST FORECAST INFORMATION. YOU CAN ALSO OBTAIN THE LATEST
FORECAST ONLINE AT:

HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/DTX/ (ALL LOWER CASE)

BT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Genesee

When: May 31, 12:20 AM EST
Where: Genesee County, Montrose
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.183, -83.867

Thunderstorm Wind, Saginaw

When: May 31, 2:47 AM EST
Where: Saginaw County, Burt
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.233, -83.917

Law enforcement officials reported that numerous trees had been blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Shiawassee

When: May 31, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Shiawassee County, New Lothrop
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.117, -83.967

Law enforcement officials reported that numerous trees had been blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Genesee

When: May 31, 3:10 AM EST
Where: Genesee County, 4 mi NE of Flushing
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 43.100, -83.783

A National Weather Service storm survey determined that a downburst (strait line thunderstorm winds) hit portions of northeastern Flushing Township and northwestern Mt Morris Township. Damage included numerous downed trees and limbs, some of which fell onto homes and cars. The downburst was aproximately 4 miles long and 2 to 3 miles wide.

Hail, Genesee

When: May 31, 3:18 AM EST
Where: Genesee County, Flint
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.033, -83.683

Hail, Lapeer

When: May 31, 3:35 AM EST
Where: Lapeer County, Lapeer
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.050, -83.317

Thunderstorm Wind, Lapeer

When: May 31, 3:38 AM EST
Where: Lapeer County, Lapeer
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.050, -83.317

Law enforcement officials reported numerous trees had been blown down.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

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 Warnings in Michigan, May 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: 5298888, 5298889, 5298890, 5298891, 5298892, 5298893, 5298894.