8 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 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 May 21, 3:02 AM EST, 8 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 402 AM EDT FRI MAY 21 2004 .SHORT TERM... TO MAKE A LONG STORY VERY SHORT... A WIGGLY FRONT WILL KEEP THE RISK OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS GOING THROUGH THE WEEKEND. REALLY THE MAIN QUESTION IS TIMING OF THE WAVES OF CONVECTION...THE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS (WHERE AND WHEN)...THEN THE HYDRO ISSUE...WILL THERE BE ENOUGH RAIN FOR FLOODING? MAINLY WE WILL BE TIMING WAVES ALONG THE FRONT THROUGH MONDAY. THERE IS A STRONG IMPULSE THAT COMES FROM THE WESTERN TROUGH THAT WHICH I BELIEVE THE ETA FLATTENS TO FAST (TYPICAL MODEL ERROR) SO MORE THAN LIKELY THE FRONT WILL BE SLIGHTLY FARTHER NORTH SUNDAY THEN FORECAST BY THE ETA. GIVEN THE HIGH VALUES OF PRECIPITABLE WATER AROUND THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND THE CLOSENESS OF THE FRONT...ANY THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX THAT MOVES THROUGH COULD HAVE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. GIVEN THE 5 TO 12+ INCHES OF RAIN THAT HAVE FALLEN OVER THE CWA THIS MONTH ALREADY...SEEMS ANOTHER ESF IS IN ODER FOR THE WEEKEND. SO I WILL UPDATE THE ONE WE ISSUED YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. AS FOR THE SEVERE THREAT...WITH THE 50+ KNOT LOW LEVEL JET OVER CNTL LOWER MI FORECAST FOR FRI NIGHT AND A SIMILAR JET SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 94 SAT NIGHT...ALSO GIVEN THE TIMING OF THE UPPER WAVES AND THE JET DIVERGENCE...THE OVERNIGHT HOURS OF FRI AND SATURDAY SEEM GOOD. SUNDAY WE HAVE THAT STRONG PAC SHORTWAVE MOVING THROUGH... SO THAT IS ANOTHER GOOD WINDOW FOR SEVERE WEATHER. TEMPERATURES WILL DEPEND ON WHERE THE FRONT IS BUT GIVEN IT GOT TO 79F IN GRR THURSDAY WITH 100 PERCENT OVERCAST...AND THAT THE 1000/925MB THICKNESS IS SIMILAR FRIDAY EVENING AND SATURDAY EVENING...HIGHS SHOULD BE LOWER 80S SOUTH AND 70S NORTH EACH DAY. LOWS MOSTLY IN THE 60S SOUTH AND 50S EXTREME NORTH. I FAVOR THE FLSS RUC FOR PCPN TODAY... IT SHOW NO RAIN IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN UNTIL LATER THIS AFTERNOON. GIVEN THE BEST LIFT IS WEST OF MICHIGAN THAT MAKES SENSE. EVEN SO...CANT RULE OUT A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORM THIS AFTERNOON ANYWHERE OVER LOWER MICHIGAN GIVEN HOW UNSTABLE IT WILL BE AND THE WARM FRONT WILL BE MOVING BACK NORTH. .LONG TERM... THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS CONTINUE IN GOOD AGREEMENT AND INDICATE THAT THE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL PERSIST ACROSS OUR AREA NEXT WEEK. ON TUESDAY...A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE OUT OF THE AREA WITH THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ENDING BY MIDDAY. SKIES WILL BE PARTLY CLOUDY THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING...WHEN THE INFLUENCE OF ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TUESDAY NIGHT AND A FEW SHOWERS WILL LINGER INTO WEDNESDAY. BEHIND THE FRONT...GUIDANCE SHOWS COOLER AIR FILTERING INTO THE AREA AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES INTO THE REGION. ONLY SMALL CHANGES WILL BE MADE TO THE FORECAST...MAINLY WITH THE TIMING OF SYSTEMS THROUGH THE AREA. && .GRR...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && WDM IOD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 635 AM EDT FRI MAY 21 2004 MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-221015- ALLEGAN-BARRY-CALHOUN-CLARE-CLINTON-EATON-GRATIOT-INGHAM-IONIA- ISABELLA-JACKSON-KALAMAZOO-KENT-LAKE-MASON-MECOSTA-MONTCALM-MUSKEGON- NEWAYGO-OCEANA-OSCEOLA-OTTAWA-VAN BUREN- 635 AM EDT FRI MAY 21 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON UNTIL AROUND 100 AM. HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER IS THE MOST LIKELY HAZARD ACROSS THE AREA. WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH ARE POSSIBLE SOUTH IF INTERSTATE 96. NEAR AND SOUTH IF INTERSTATE 94 AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION THIS EVENING INTO EARLY TONIGHT. ANY OF THESE STORMS WILL HAVE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND GIVEN THE 1 TO 3 INCH RAINFALL THAT FELL SOUTH AND EAST OF GRAND RAPIDS LAST NIGHT...THOSE AREA BETWEEN BATTLE CREEK AND JACKSON...SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 96...WOULD HAVE THE GREATEST RISK OF MINOR FLOODING DUE TO HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY OVER THE WEEKEND THE FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE BACK AND FORTH ACROSS LOWER MICHIGAN. THAT WILL TO BRING THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA FROM TIME TO TIME. THE MOST LIKELY TIMES FOR THESE STORMS ARE FROM LATE AFTERNOON INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS EACH DAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. HEAVY RAINFALL AND MINOR URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING ARE MORE THAN POSSIBLE NEAR THE HEAVIEST THUNDERSTORMS THIS WEEKEND. THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE EACH DAY THROUGH THURSDAY THOUGH AS THE FRONT WILL NOT GET FAR FROM MICHIGAN THROUGH THIS ENTIRE PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED. WDM
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
714 AM EDT FRI MAY 21 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0711 AM HEAVY RAIN LACEY 42.49N 85.19W
05/21/2004 2.20 INCH BARRY MI PUBLIC
SINCE MIDNIGHT
&&
RSUTTLEThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Amateur radio operators reported a 62 m.p.h. wind gust in Port Sheldon.
Trained spotters in Wyoming reported one inch diameter hail.
A 65 m.p.h. wind gust was reported by a trained spotter in Bangor.
Three quarters inch diameter hail was reported in Ada by broadcast media.
Several large trees which were greater than twenty inches in diameter were blown down three miles east of Hickory Corners, in Barry county.
Several trees and power lines were blown down in Wayland.
One inch diameter hail was reported in Vicksburg, in addition to estimated thunderstorm wind gusts to 70 m.p.h.
A 65 m.p.h. wind gust was reported 5 miles north of Nashville.
Several trees were blown down in Battle Creek.
Three quarters inch hail was reported in Eaton Rapids and several trees were blown down in Charlotte.
A 58 m.p.h. wind gust was measured by an AWOS site in Mason.
Seven eighths inch diameter hail was reported 5 miles south of Jackson, and several power poles were blown down near Jackson as well.
Several trees were blown down in Mason.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, May 2004
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: 5402110, 5402111, 5402112, 5402113, 5402114, 5402115, 5402200, 5402201, 5402202, 5402203, 5402204, 5402205, 5402206.