11 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 Grand Rapids, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 4, 10:35 AM EST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1135 AM EDT FRI OCT 4 2002 CURRENT RADAR LOOPS SHOWING NARROW COLD FRONTAL RAINBAND...NCFR STRETCHING FROM WISCONSIN THROUGH ILLINOIS...AND ABOUT TO MOVE OVER WESTERN LAKE MICHIGAN. SFC WINDS OUT AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE ARE SE...AND WILL NEED TO WATCH FOR MINI BOW ECHOES OR LEWPS FORMING ALONG THE LINE THAT MAY BRING STRONG ENVIRONMENTAL WINDS TO THE SFC...OR SPIN UP SHORT LIVED TORNADOES. OUT AHEAD OF THE NCFR THERE APPEARS TO BE A WAA WING OF PRECIP OVER LAKE MICHIGAN THAT WILL BE MOVING OVER THE NW GRR CWA NEXT HOUR. WILL BUMP UP POPS TO CATEGORICAL FOR THIS AFTERNOON. TEMPS ARE IN THE LOWER MID 70S ACROSS THE CWA AT 15Z...AND WITH PRECIP MOVING IN...DONT EXPECT THEM TO RISE MORE THAN A DEGREE OR TWO MORE. ZONE UPDATE OUT. OSTUNO .GRR...NONE.
MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-051000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1202 PM EDT FRI OCT 4 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE... A SQUALL LINE WAS LOCATED ACROSS EASTERN WISCONSIN AND ILLINOIS AT NOON. WINDS AT MILWAUKEE GUSTED TO 45 MPH AT 1145 AM AS THIS LINE OF STORMS MOVED THOUGH. THE STORMS WILL MOVE EAST AND CROSS SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN BETWEEN 1 AND 6 PM. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS...THAT MAY GUST OVER 60 MPH WITH SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS. SHORT LIVED...ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE WITH SOME OF THE STORMS ALONG THE SQUALL LINE...THAT WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL AREAS OF SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE. THIS TYPE OF DAMAGE HAS ALREADY OCCURRED ACROSS SOUTHERN WISCONSIN THIS MORNING. THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED THE ENTIRE AREA UNDER A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS. OTHER HAZARDS FROM THESE STORMS INCLUDE...HEAVY RAIN...CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES AND SMALL HAIL. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. OSTUNO
MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-042200-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
122 PM EDT FRI OCT 4 2002
THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS
OF THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF LOWER MICHIGAN EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 PM EDT
FRIDAY EVENING. THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES
IN WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN
MASON...LAKE...OCEANA...NEWAYGO AND MUSKEGON
IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN
OSCEOLA...CLARE...ISABELLA...MECOSTA...MONTCALM AND GRATIOT
IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
KENT...ALLEGAN...BARRY...KALAMAZOO...VAN BUREN AND OTTAWA
IN SOUTH CENTRAL MICHIGAN
IONIA...CLINTON...INGHAM...EATON...JACKSON AND CALHOUN
THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE ADJOINING COASTAL WATERS OF AFFECTED
LAKESHORE COUNTIES.
A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES. IF YOU
LIVE IN OR NEAR THE WATCH AREA YOU SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY
CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE
LOCAL NEWS OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
RG BDMThe Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 88 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:03 UTC.
11 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Local law enforcement reported that several trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts in Fruitport and Montague.
Several trees were blown down two miles north of Coopersville.
Kalamazoo area law enforcement reported several trees blown down in East Cooper and Portage.
A few trees were blown down in Beal City.
Trained spotters three miles south of Hastings reported that numerous trees were blown down.
Law enforcement reported that several trees were blown down in Bellevue and Charlotte.
Several trees were blown down in Wacousta and Fowler, as reported by area law enforcement.
Law enforcement in Bedford reported that several power poles were snapped off and six trees were blown down.
Several trees and utility lights were blown down in Lansing.
A few trees were blown down in De Witt and St. John's, as reported by local law enforcement.
Several power lines and trees were blown down in Jackson and also about five miles south of Jackson.
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, October 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: 5320880, 5320881, 5320882, 5320883, 5320965, 5320966, 5320967, 5320968, 5320969, 5320970, 5320971.