An isolated severe thunderstorm produced damaging winds and large hail in West Branch.
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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 episode as NWS APX wrote it up.
An isolated severe thunderstorm produced damaging winds and large hail in West Branch.
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 Gaylord, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 21, 3:15 PM EST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI 415 PM EDT THU JUL 21 2005 .DISCUSSION...MCS TO THE SOUTH HAS SLOWED AND FALLEN APART THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AFTER COMING ONSHORE IN SW LOWER MICHIGAN. STILL A DYING LINE OF SHOWERS/ISOLATED THUNDER SLOWLY WORKING EASTWARD THROUGH CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN...WHILE OUTFLOW FROM THIS ORIGINAL LINE TRYING TO FIRE OFF A FEW MORE THUNDERSTORMS FURTHER EASTWARD WITHIN THE UNSTABLE AIRMASS. UP THIS WAY...COOLER AIR HAS MADE LITTLE OR NO PROGRESS INTO THE CWA THUS FAR...ALTHOUGH DRIER AIR NOW SLOWLY INFILTRATING SOUTHWARD WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 40S ACROSS E UPPER MI...AND MID 50S ACROSS THE TIP OF THE MITT. FORECAST ISSUE TONIGHT REVOLVE AROUND THE DECAYING MCS AND ASSOCIATED PRECIP CHANCES. WITH DEWPOINTS STILL RUNNING IN THE UPPER 60S TO AROUND 70F...LAPS ANALYSIS SHOWING SBCAPE VALUES RUNNING 1-2K J/KG OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. SOME BUILDING CU EVIDENT ON VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY ACROSS THIS AREA. HOWEVER...THUS FAR LAKE BREEZE LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE HAS BEEN INSUFFICIENT TO OVERCOME CONVECTIVE INHIBITION. WITH DRIER AIR INFILTRATING SOUTH HAVE DROPPED THE IDEA OF LAKE BREEZE SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT NORTH OF M-72 FOR THE EVENING. BUT...COMBINATION OF OUTFLOW FROM DECAYING MCS AND ENHANCED LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE DUE TO DIFFERENTIAL HEATING ALONG THE THICKER CIRRUS SHIELD AND TERRAIN BOOST MAY BE ENOUGH TO OVERCOME THE LOWER CINH VALUES ALONG AND SOUTH OF M-72 THIS EVENING. SO...WILL KEEP THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS GOING THROUGH MID EVENING UNTIL REMNANTS OF MCS EXITS THE REGION. THEN...ANTICIPATE SKIES TO CLEAR W-E LATER THIS EVENING AS MCS CIRCULATION EXITS TO THE EAST FOLLOWED BY COOLER/DRIER AIR SAGGING SOUTH ACROSS THE CWA. AM A BIT CONCERNED THAT WE MAY SEE ANOTHER ROUND OF LOW CLOUDS DEVELOP EARLY TOMORROW MORNING SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAD A FEW DAYS AGO...AS THE COOLER AIR SLIPS DOWN OVER A RELATIVELY MOIST BOUNDARY. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO WAKE UP TO A SCT-BKN DECK OF SUB 2000 FOOT CLOUD COVER. ALSO...MODEL RH FORECASTS SUGGEST SOME MID CLOUD FROM UPSTREAM CONVECTION NOW OVER THE DAKOTAS WILL SPREAD INTO NRN MICHIGAN TOWARD MORNING. SO...CONSIDERING ALL THIS WILL HAVE SKIES TURNING PARTLY CLOUDY AGAIN LATER OVERNIGHT. FRIDAY...A DRY FORECAST ANTICIPATED WITH A BIT COOLER AND DRIER AIR FINALLY OVERSPREADING THE REGION (UPPER 40S DEWPOINTS FORECAST FOR INTERIOR SECTIONS). ANY MORNING CLOUDS WILL EVENTUALLY MIX/THIN OUT. BUT AS MENTIONED ABOVE MAY STILL HAVE SOME MID CLOUD DRIFTING THROUGH FOR A GOOD PART OF THE DAY. THUS...AN OVERALL PARTLY SUNNY FORECAST LOOKS GOOD FOR NOW. ADAM LONG TERM... MODELS ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE MAJOR FEATURES, BUT THERE ARE CONVECTIVE PROBLEMS ESPECIALLY WITH THE GFS IN THE LATER PERIODS. FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY...HIGH PRESSURE CONTINUES TO SLIDE THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES WITH THE SFC HIGH OVER MICHIGAN DURING THE NIGHT. DURING THE DAY THE SFC HIGH SLIDES OFF TO THE SOUTHEAST. THE MAIN DISCREPANCY BEGINS TO BE THE MOISTURE AND WHERE THE CONVECTION WILL FIRE. HOWEVER, BOTH MODELS SEEM TO AGREE THAT ANY RAIN WONT GET INTO THE FORECAST AREA UNTIL THE NIGHT. SATURDAY NIGHT...BOTH MODELS SHOW SOME SORT OF MCS MOVING INTO THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE NIGHT. THE GFS LOOKS MORE LIKE MINOR WARM ADVECTION RAIN WHILE THE NAM SHOWS MORE OF A MCS MOVING INTO UPPER MICHIGAN AND AREAS NORTH OF M-32 IN LOWER MICHIGAN. SO HAVE GONE WITH CHANCE POPS EVERYWHERE. SUNDAY...CONTINUE CHANCE POPS IN THE MORNING AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH BEHIND THE WARM ADVECTION AREA ON THE GFS. BOTH MODELS HAVE SOME PRECIPITATION IN THE MORNING. THE AFTERNOON LOOKS A BIT DRIER, SO HAVE SLIGHT CHANCE IN E UPPER AND CHANCE IN N LOWER AS THE MOISTURE AND THE COLD FRONT MOVE OUT OF THE SOUTH. OVERNIGHT HIGH PRESSURE BRIEFLY MOVES THROUGH AND KEEPS THE WEATHER DRY BEFORE THE MORNING WHEN... EXTENDED (MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)...ENSEMBLE MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH THE UPCOMING PATTERN CHANGE NOW. THEY HINTED AT THIS A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO AND THEN BACKTRACKED A BIT ONLY SHOW IT YESTERDAY AND TODAY. TODAYS OPERATIONAL MODELS ARE MORE IN LINE WITH THE ENSEMBLES WHICH ARE SHOWING 500 MB TROUGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES BY THE WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY FRAME, WHICH WILL BRING US OUT OF THE HEAT FOR A WHILE AND INTO THE COOLER WEATHER. SO THE FORECAST WILL LOOK LIKE THIS...MONDAY, COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH IN THE MORNING SO WILL GO WITH CHANCE OF THUNDER IN THE MORNING THEN, HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION AND DRIES OUT THE REGION. TUESDAY, COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE REGION AND BRINGS A SECOND ROUND FOR THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WEDNESDAY, SFC HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE REGION AND LOOKS LIKE IT SETTLES IN THROUGH AT LEAST TUESDAY. AT THE SAME TIME THE 500 MB TROUGH IS OVER THE REGION WITH SMALLER SCALE WAVES ROTATING ABOUT IT. THERE MAY BE SMALL CHANCES OF SHOWERS ON THESE DAYS. HOWEVER, THE BULK OF THE DAY SHOULD BE COOL AND DRY. LUTZ && .APX...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI 427 PM EDT THU JUL 21 2005 MIZ008-015>036-041-042-LSZ321-322-LMZ323-341-342-344-345- LHZ345>349-221000- ALCONA-ALPENA-ANTRIM-ARENAC-BENZIE-CHARLEVOIX-CHEBOYGAN-CHIPPEWA- CRAWFORD-EMMET-GLADWIN-GRAND TRAVERSE-IOSCO-KALKASKA-LEELANAU- MACKINAC-MANISTEE-MISSAUKEE-MONTMORENCY-OGEMAW-OSCODA-OTSEGO- PRESQUE ISLE-ROSCOMMON-WEXFORD...INCLUDING THE ADJACENT WATERS WITHIN FIVE NAUTICAL MILES OF SHORE ON LAKE MICHIGAN...LAKE HURON...AND LAKE SUPERIOR 427 PM EDT THU JUL 21 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHERN LOWER AND EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN THIS EVENING...PRIMARILY ALONG AND SOUTH OF M-72. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN FRIDAY MORNING. THESE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY...AND AGAIN MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. && MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING URL: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GAYLORD (ALL LOWER CASE) JZ/ADAM
The NCL Michigan radar (KAPX), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:36 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous trees and large limbs were downed. The most substantial damage was on the southeast edge of downtown West Branch, including Irons Park and St Joseph Cemetery. Some homes sustained roof damage from falling trees.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, July 2005
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: 5466234, 5466235.