5 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 Aug 16, 10:13 AM EST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1112 AM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003 AT 15Z THE COLD FRONT BISECTS LOWER MI FROM SAGINAW BAY TO JUST SOUTH OF LDM. INSTABILITY CONTINUES TO BUILD AHEAD OF THE FRONT WHERE LI/S ARE PROGGED TO BE AROUND -5C AND CAPES BETWEEN 2-3K BY MID AFTERNOON. THE RUC SUPPORTS LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE FROM BOTH THE LAKE MICHIGAN AND LAKE HURON BREEZES...LEADING TO MORE ACTIVITY INLAND THAN NEAR THE SHORES. MID LAYER DRYING IS NOTED ON FORECAST SOUNDINGS WITH A MID LEVEL JET STREAK OF 55-60KT COMING ACROSS. THIS RISES THE POSSIBILITY OF A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING STRONG WINDS...MAINLY OVER THE SOUTHERN 2/3 OF THE CWA. ALTHOUGH A FEW STORMS HAVE COME ACROSS THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE CWA...AND CONDITIONS HAVE STABILIZED THERE...WILL LEAVE POPS GOING THERE TOO AS CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY MAY FORM OVER NORTHEAST WISCONSIN AND THEN TRACK INTO CENTRAL LOWER THIS AFTERNOON. THE FRONT IS FORECASTED TO BE ALONG THE MI/IN BORDER BY 00Z SO THINKING NOW IS THAT MOST OF THE STORMS WILL BE EXITING THE CWA BY 00Z. .GRR...NONE. JK
MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-171045- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1152 AM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 96 THIS AFTERNOON. THE PRIMARY THREATS ARE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND HAIL UP TO AN INCH IN DIAMETER. THE STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP ARE FORECASTED TO TRACK SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. BECAUSE OF THE VERY MOIST AIRMASS IN PLACE...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN COULD LEAD TO SOME POOR DRAINAGE FLOODING. LIGHTNING COULD BE FREQUENT WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY OVER CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN IS FORECASTED TO TRACK SOUTH THIS AFTERNOON...CROSSING SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN BY EVENING. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME VERY UNSTABLE AHEAD OF THIS FRONT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD FORM ALONG THE FRONT THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE ARRIVAL OF A STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET STREAM DISTURBANCE AFTER 2 PM...COULD ENHANCE THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY... POSSIBLY LEADING TO A FEW SEVERE STORMS...AGAIN MAINLY SOUTH OF A GRAND RAPIDS TO LANSING LINE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON MJS JK
MIZ043>045-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-170000-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
225 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003
THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
FOR PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF LOWER MICHIGAN EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 800 PM EDT SATURDAY EVENING. THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES
IN WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN
OCEANA...NEWAYGO AND MUSKEGON
IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN
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.
MEADEThe Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:02 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees and power lines were blown down in Potterville.
A tree was blown down and blocked a road in Dansville, and numerous telephone lines were blown down three miles north of Aurelius.
Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in Charlotte.
Three trees were blown down onto L Drive North in Albion.
Several trees were blown down in Jackson.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, August 2003
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: 5369415, 5369414, 5369483, 5369485, 5369484.