10 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 Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 21, 10:20 AM EST, 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 1020 AM EST FRI MAY 21 2004 .UPDATE... QUICK ZONES/GRIDS UPDATE HAS WENT OUT TO SPEED UP TIMING OF POPS. SQUALL LINE NOW ENTERING WESTERN LAKE MICHIGAN WITH HISTORY OF HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. HAVE REMOVED TIMING MENTION OF PRECIP TODAY. WILL PROBABLY BE A LULL AFTER THIS LINE...BUT WILL WORRY ABOUT THAT LATER. LATEST SWOMCD SAYS NO WATCH ANTICIPATED...BUT THAT MAY CHANGE OVER NEXT HOUR OR SO. TEMPS WERE ADJUSTED TO LOWER SOME IN NORTH AND NORTHEAST AND RAISE A FEW DEGREES IN THE FAR SOUTH. && .AVIATION... COLD FRONT HAS PUSHED INTO NW INDIANA AND WAS ABOUT OVER SBN AT 11Z. PATCHY AREAS OF DENSE FOG WERE BOTH BEHIND THE FRONT IN THE COOLER AIR AS WELL AS AT FWA IN THE WARM SECTOR. WILL MENTION FOG EARLY...BUT VSBY CONDITIONS SHOULD IMPROVE RAPIDLY AT FWA WITH DAYTIME HEATING AS RADIATIONAL INVERSION SHOULD MIX OUT QUICKLY. FRONT SHOULD LIFT NORTH THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING...SO WITH DEEP GULF MOISTURE...FRONT AND EMBEDDED WEAK SHORT WAVE APPROACHING...WILL MENTIONS STORMS IN TAFS. LOOKS LIKE BEST TIME IS LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING. LATER TONIGHT...WINDS SHOULD CONTINUE FROM THE SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST AS FRONT SHIFTS NORTH. && .SHORT TERM... FORECAST CHALLENGE IS SEVERE STORM POTENTIAL FOR THIS AFTERNOON. FRONTAL BOUNDARY BISECTING FORECAST AREA WILL SHIFT JUST A BIT FARTHER SOUTH THIS AM...THEN RETURN NORTH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...FOCUSING CONVECTION. THOUGH SIGNIFICANT TRIGGER ALOFT MISSING...LOW LEVEL FRONTAL CONVERGENCE AND A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS...CAPES TO 2000 J/KG...WILL LEAD TO STORM GENERATION. 850 THROUGH 700 MB WINDS PROGGED TO INCREASE TO 40 TO 50 KT THIS EVENING...SUPPORTING DAY 1 OUTLOOK FOR SEVERE. AFTER MIDNIGHT...EXPECT JUST ISOLATED SHOWERS AND STORMS...MAINLY OVER NORTHERN SECTIONS OF FORECAST AREA. NGM MOS TEMPERATURES...WHICH ARE A BLEND OF COOLER GFS AND WARMER ETA MOS HIGHS FOR TODAY...LOOK BEST. PREFER WARMER ETA MOS LOWS FOR TONIGHT...GIVEN CURRENT DEWPOINTS AND BOUNDARY LAYER MIXING. && .LONG TERM... SIGNIFICANT MODEL DIFFERENCES EXIST WITH REGARD TO MID LEVEL AND SURFACE FEATURES FROM SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. ETA HAS TRENDED WEAKER AND FASTER WITH 500 MB FEATURES AND CONSEQUENTLY PUSHES COLD FRONT SOUTH THROUGH REGION QUICKER THAN GFS...WHICH EXHIBITED BETTER RUN TO RUN CONTINUITY. SOME FEEDBACK PROBLEMS WERE INDICATED IN GFS...HOWEVER...LEADING TO A SOMEWHAT STRONG MID LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND CONSEQUENT PLACEMENT OF SURFACE LOW TOO FAR NORTH AND WEST. ASIDE FROM ABOVE DISCREPANCY...UKMET AND GEM SUPPORT GFS...SO WILL LEAN TOWARD ITS SOLUTION. THUS...WILL ONLY GO WITH CHANCE POPS FAR NORTH ON SATURDAY. WILL INCLUDE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT ENTIRE FORECAST AREA...WITH HIGHEST POPS ON SUNDAY NIGHT AS COLD FRONT DROPS THROUGH REGION. && .IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IN...NONE. MI...NONE. OH...NONE. && BARJENBRUCH/SKIP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 615 AM EST FRI MAY 21 2004 INZ003>009-012>018-020-022>027-032>034-MIZ077>081-OHZ001-002-004-005- 015-016-024-025-221100- ADAMS IN-ALLEN OH-ALLEN IN-BERRIEN MI-BLACKFORD IN-BRANCH MI-CASS MI- CASS IN-DE KALB IN-DEFIANCE OH-ELKHART IN-FULTON OH-FULTON IN- GRANT IN-HENRY OH-HILLSDALE MI-HUNTINGTON IN-JAY IN-KOSCIUSKO IN- LA PORTE IN-LAGRANGE IN-MARSHALL IN-MIAMI IN-NOBLE IN-PAULDING OH- PULASKI IN-PUTNAM OH-ST. JOSEPH MI-ST. JOSEPH IN-STARKE IN- STEUBEN IN-VAN WERT OH-WABASH IN-WELLS IN-WHITE IN-WHITLEY IN- WILLIAMS OH- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ANGOLA...ARCHBOLD...AUBURN... BENTON HARBOR...BENTON HEIGHTS...BERNE...BLUFFTON...BREMEN...BRYAN... BUCHANAN...BUTLER...COLDWATER...COLUMBIA CITY...DECATUR...DEFIANCE... DELPHOS...DOWAGIAC...DUNKIRK...DUNLAP...ELKHART...FAIR PLAIN... FAIRMOUNT...FORT SHAWNEE...FORT WAYNE...GARRETT...GAS CITY... GEORGETOWN...GOSHEN...GRANGER...GRISSOM AFB...GULIVOIRE PARK... HARTFORD CITY...HICKSVILLE...HILLSDALE...HUNTINGTON...KENDALLVILLE... KNOX...LA PORTE...LAGRANGE...LIGONIER...LIMA...LOGANSPORT...MARION... MICHIGAN CITY...MISHAWAKA...MONTICELLO...MONTPELIER...NAPOLEON... NAPPANEE...NEW HAVEN...NILES...NORTH MANCHESTER...OSSIAN...OTTAWA... PERU...PLYMOUTH...PORTLAND...ROCHESTER...SIMONTON LAKE... SOUTH BEND...ST. JOSEPH...STURGIS...SWANTON...SYRACUSE... THREE RIVERS...TRAIL CREEK...TRI-LAKES...UPLAND...VAN WERT... WABASH...WARSAW...WAUSEON...WESTVILLE...WINAMAC AND WINONA LAKE 615 AM EST FRI MAY 21 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHERN INDIANA...NORTHWEST OHIO AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A CHANCE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN...NORTHERN INDIANA AND NORTHWEST OHIO THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. DAMAGING WIND WILL BE THE MOST LIKELY FORM OF SEVERE WEATHER. THUNDERSORM DEVELOPMENT WILL BE FOCUSED ALONG A WARM FRONT LIFTING SLOWLY NORTHWARD ACROSS THE REGION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER EXTEME SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN ON SATURDAY AND ACROSS THE AREA FROM SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY DUE TO A FRONTAL BOUNDARY OSCILLATING OVER THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES AND OHIO VALLEY REGION. THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED BY LATE AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES OR CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/IWX BARJENBRUCH
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
737 AM EST FRI MAY 21 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0120 AM TSTM WND DMG OTTOVILLE 40.93N 84.34W
05/21/2004 PUTNAM OH EMERGENCY MNGR
HALF OF 60 FOOT TALL TREE BLEW DOWN. WIND MEASURED AT 48
MPH.
&&
JTPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
813 AM EST FRI MAY 21 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1115 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 SW WHITE PIGEON 41.76N 85.70W
05/20/2004 ST. JOSEPH MI TRAINED SPOTTER
MANY TREE LIMBS DOWN...MOST OVER 1 FOOT IN DIAMETER. ONE
TREE 1.5 FOOT IN DIAMETER SNAPPED 25 FEET FROM THE
GROUND. ONE TREE UPROOTED. ESTIMATED 60 MPH WIND.
&&
WAMSLEYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT ... CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
909 AM EST FRI MAY 21 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0120 AM TSTM WND DMG OTTOVILLE 40.93N 84.34W
05/21/2004 PUTNAM OH EMERGENCY MNGR
HALF OF 60 FOOT TALL TREE BLEW DOWN. WIND MEASURED AT 48
MPH.
1115 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 SW WHITE PIGEON 41.76N 85.70W
05/20/2004 ST. JOSEPH MI TRAINED SPOTTER
MANY TREE LIMBS DOWN...MOST OVER 1 FOOT IN DIAMETER. ONE
TREE 1.5 FOOT IN DIAMETER SNAPPED 25 FEET FROM THE
GROUND. ONE TREE UPROOTED. ESTIMATED 60 MPH WIND.
1045 PM TSTM WND DMG EDWARDSBURG 41.80N 86.08W
05/20/2004 CASS MI COUNTY OFFICIAL
TREES DOWN
1030 PM TSTM WND DMG SOUTH BEND 41.68N 86.27W
05/20/2004 ST. JOSEPH IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
WIDESPREAD TREE LIMBS AND POWERLINES DOWN IN CITY OF
SOUTH BEND
1030 PM TSTM WND GST 4 S SOUTH BEND 41.62N 86.27W
05/20/2004 65 MPH ST. JOSEPH IN TRAINED SPOTTER
65 MPH ESTIMATED GUST ON SOUTH SIDE OF SOUTH BEND
1025 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 S NILES 41.78N 86.25W
05/20/2004 BERRIEN MI COUNTY OFFICIAL
TREE DOWN IN BERTRAND
0950 PM TSTM WND GST MICHIGAN CITY 41.71N 86.88W
05/20/2004 60 MPH LA PORTE IN COAST GUARD
MEASURED AT MICHIGAN CITY COAST GUARD
&&
WAMSLEYThe Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:06 UTC.
10 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trained spotter reported trees down in Benton Harbor. Winds were estimated near 70 MPH.
Law enforcement reported trees and power lines down in Niles.
Law enforcement reported trees and power lines down in Berrien Springs and countywide. 7 injuries reported. Damage to the roofs of 6 buildings.
Emergency management reported a 4 foot diameter oak tree fell onto a vehicle as it was passing. The car was crushed and the 50 year old female driver was killed instantly.
Law enforcement reported trees and power lines down countywide and a semi truck rolled over.
Broadcast media weather station at Three Rivers High School recorded a wind gust to 78 MPH.
Emergency management reported a 36 year old female was driving in Sturgis when a large tree fell on her vehicle and crushed it. The driver was killed instantly.
A 71 year old male was killed when a large tree fell on his vehicle and crushed it as he was driving north of Colon. The driver was killed instantly.
Emergency management reported trees and power lines down in Coldwater. A barn was also blown over.
Emergency management reported trees and power lines down countywide.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind, Berrien | 2004-05-21 | 50 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Thunderstorm Wind, St. Joseph | 2004-05-21 | 36 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Thunderstorm Wind, St. Joseph | 2004-05-21 | 71 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
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: 5399153, 5399154, 5399155, 5399156, 5399157, 5399158, 5399159, 5399160, 5399161, 5397787.