2 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 Detroit, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 6, 7:15 PM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 815 PM EDT FRI MAY 6 2005 .UPDATE... THE 18Z RUC AND NAM SOUNDINGS SHOWED 700 TO 500MB LAPSE RATES OF AROUND 7 C/KM THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT ACROSS SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. THIS COUPLED WITH NOCTURNAL CLOUD TOP COOLING SHOULD FURTHER DESTABILIZE THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE. HAVE THEREFORE UPDATED THE FORECAST TO ADD MENTION OF THUNDER TONIGHT ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA. THE 850MB MOIST AXIS AND STRONGEST LIFT AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING SHORT WAVE WILL GRADUALLY WORK ACROSS SE MICHIGAN TONIGHT. THE DETROIT AREA WILL NOT SEE THE BEST DYNAMICS UNTIL AFTER 2 AM. SHOULD ONLY SEE SOME SPRINKLES OR VERY LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS UNTIL THEN. AS FOR THE SAGINAW VALLEY... HAVE UPDATE TO GO WITH NUMEROUS SHOWERS BASED ON RADAR TRENDS. LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHORT WAVE WILL ALSO BE STRONGER ACROSS THE SAGINAW VALLEY TONIGHT. UPDATED ZFPDTX AND GRIDDED FORECASTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ISSUED. && .AVIATION... ISSUED AT 717 PM. A MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH IS LOCATED OVER EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN... WHILE A SMALLER SCALE CIRCULATION IS ALSO EVIDENT JUST SOUTH OF GREEN BAY. THESE SHORT WAVES WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN LOWER MI TONIGHT...SENDING HEIGHT FALLS ACROSS SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. THE LIFT COMBINED WITH A LOW TO MID LEVEL MOIST AXIS AHEAD OF THIS WAVE WILL ALLOW SCATTERED CONVECTION TO INCREASE ACROSS SE MICHIGAN BETWEEN 03Z AND 09Z. LOW LEVEL DRY AIR IN PLACE OVER SE MICHIGAN SHOULD KEEP MOST OF THE CLOUD BASES IN THE VFR CATEGORY. WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR THUNDER TONIGHT... ESPECIALLY AFTER 04Z AS HIGHER MOISTURE IN THE 800-850MB LAYER ADVECTS INTO THE AREA WITH STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES. AT THIS POINT... THE BEST ELEVATED INSTABILITY SETS UP JUST WEST OF THE AREA. SO WILL LEAVE THUNDER OUT OF THE TAFS AT THIS TIME THINKING THE PROBABILITY FOR THUNDER TO AFFECT THE TAF SITES IS STILL VERY LOW. SO WILL JUST MENTION SHOWERS. && .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT AND TOMORROW (ISSUED AT 400 PM) SHOWER ACTIVITY CONTINUES IN THE WARM SECTOR ACROSS WESTERN MICHIGAN OUT AHEAD OF AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE UPPER PENINSULA. DESPITE WEAKENING SEEN ON THE RADAR...WILL LEAVE CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS IN FOR THIS EVENING. RAIN SHOWERS MAY PICK UP A LITTLE AS THEY APPROACH THE THUMB WHERE THERE MAY BE ENHANCED LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE AND HAVE EXTENDED CHANCE OF SHOWERS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE OHIO BORDER WHERE BEST ISENTROPIC LIFT WILL BE LOCATED. THIS LINE HAS BEEN THUNDERLESS FOR MOST OF THE AFTERNOON AND WITH FORCING WEAKENING AS IT CONTINUES INTO TONIGHT...HAVE REMOVED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. THINK THE GFS IS OVERDONE WITH STRENGTH OF THE SHORTWAVE AT 500MB OVERNIGHT. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A WIDER TROUGH WITH ENERGY IN TWO SEGMENTS THAT IS BETTER REPRESENTED BY THE NAM AND LOCAL WRFXX. SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT AS THE SURFACE LOW MOVES SOUTHEAST TOWARDS LAKE ERIE. WEAK COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL FILTER ACROSS THE AREA AS THE FLOW SHIFTS TO THE NORTHWEST BEHIND THE SURFACE LOW. WILL LEAVE CHANCE POPS IN THROUGH THE NIGHT BUT HAVE DROPPED POPS AS WE HEAD INTO SATURDAY. DESPITE SOME WEAK FRONTOGENESIS WITH WEAK COOLING CONTINUING IN THE LOW LAYERS...VERY DRY AIR AS SEEN ON THE SOUNDING FROM MINNEAPOLIS THIS MORNING WILL MOVE OVER THE AREA AND REDUCE THE RISK OF RAIN. SATURDAY WILL BE A BEAUTIFUL DAY WITH TEMPS REACHING THE UPPER 60S TO NEAR 70 AGAIN. && .LONG TERM...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. ACTIVE PATTERN SETTING UP FOR NEXT WEEK...IT APPEARS. HAD TO MAKE SOME FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FORECAST...PRIMARILY IN THE PLACEMENT OF THE SURFACE FRONT THAT WILL BE DRAPED THROUGH THE AREA...AND THE SUBSEQUENT CHANGES TO TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION FORECASTS. THE FIRST WAVE OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS IS STILL ON TRACK FOR THE MONDAY/TUESDAY TIME FRAME AS FORCING/LIFT FROM THE LARGE WESTERN CONUS UPPER TROF/LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WORKS EVER CLOSER TO THE GREAT LAKES. BEFORE THE BRUNT OF THIS ACTIVITY ARRIVES ON MONDAY...WILL HAVE TO TAILOR BACK (OR REMOVE) RAIN CHANCES SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY NIGHT AS A BUBBLE OF HIGH PRESSURE SLOWLY SINKS THROUGH THE AREA IN BEHIND SHORTWAVE TONIGHT/SATURDAY PASSES BY...LEAVING A QUIET PERIOD BEFORE THE WESTERN SYSTEM WORKS INTO THE GREAT LAKES. AM SOMEWHAT UNCOMFORTABLE MAKING BIG CHANGES TO DAYS 6/7 ON THU AND FRI...BUT CONSENSUS OF MODELS CRY FOR THIS. THE MAIN CHANGE FROM YESTERDAY IS FOR A VERY STRONG STORM TO WORK ACROSS THE HUDSON BAY REGION...ALLOWING A LATE SEASON ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE TO DROP INTO EASTERN CANADA...WITH THE MAIN STORM TRACK ALONG THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF THIS SYSTEM FOCUSED RIGHT THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES. COVERED THE ENTIRE CWA WITH SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS THU/FRI & BROUGHT THE FLOW FROM THE EAST/NORTHEAST ON NORTH SIDE OF FRONT (WHICH MATCHES UP MUCH BETTER WITH SURROUNDING CWAS. THE TEMPERATURE GRADIENT IN THIS REGIME WILL END UP BEING QUITE SHARP FROM NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST ACROSS LOWER MICHIGAN...ESPECIALLY WITH THE HELP OF LAKE HURON. WILL MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO HANDLE THIS (WITH A 10-15 DEGREE RANGE)... BUT EVENTUAL POSITION OF SEMI-STATIONARY EAST/WEST FRONT WILL BE THE FINAL DETERMINING FACTOR...AND MUCH TO DIFFICULT TO CALL ATTM. GIVEN 12Z GFS...THINGS MAY END UP BEING MUCH COLDER CWA-WIDE THAN THE CURRENT FORECAST INDICATES...BUT WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT SAME PROG FROM A FEW MORE RUNS BEFORE GOING DRAMATICALLY BELOW NORMAL LATE NEXT WEEK. && .DTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...NONE. LAKE HURON...NONE. LAKE ST CLAIR...NONE. MI WATERS OF LAKE ERIE...NONE. && SHORT TERM...KAHL LONG TERM....DG AVIATION.....CONSIDINE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 822 PM EDT FRI MAY 6 2005 MIZ047>049-053-054-071000- MIDLAND-BAY-HURON-SAGINAW-TUSCOLA- 822 PM EDT FRI MAY 6 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL HOWEVER BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS... PEA SIZED HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 25 MPH. STORMS WILL GENERALLY MOVE EAST AT 20 MPH. THE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT ARE THE RESULT OF A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS THE REGION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN BY SUNDAY...CONTINUING THROUGH TUESDAY...AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES OUT OF THE PLAINS AND SLOWLY CROSSES THE GREAT LAKES REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. MIZ055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-071000- SANILAC-SHIAWASSEE-GENESEE-LAPEER-ST. CLAIR-LIVINGSTON-OAKLAND- MACOMB-WASHTENAW-WAYNE-LENAWEE-MONROE- 822 PM EDT FRI MAY 6 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT...MAINLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL HOWEVER BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS... PEA SIZED HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 25 MPH. STORMS WILL GENERALLY MOVE EAST AT 20 MPH. THE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT ARE THE RESULT OF A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS THE REGION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER SATURDAY MORNING SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 69...AFTER WHICH TIME THE COLD FRONT WILL HAVE SAGGED TO SOUTH OF MICHIGAN. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN BY SUNDAY...CONTINUING FOR THE MOST PART THROUGH TUESDAY...AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES OUT OF THE PLAINS AND SLOWLY CROSSES THE GREAT LAKES REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. LCZ422-423-460-LEZ444-LHZ421-422-441>443-462>464-071000- ST. CLAIR RIVER-DETROIT RIVER-LAKE ST. CLAIR- MICHIGAN WATERS OF LAKE ERIE-OUTER SAGINAW BAY-INNER SAGINAW BAY- PORT AUSTIN TO HARBOR BEACH MI-HARBOR BEACH TO PORT SANILAC MI- PORT SANILAC TO PORT HURON MI- LAKE HURON OFFSHORE BEYOND 5 NM FROM PORT AUSTIN TO HARBOR BEACH MI- LAKE HURON OFFSHORE BEYOND 5 NM FROM HARBOR BEACH TO PORT SANILAC MI- LAKE HURON OFFSHORE BEYOND 5 NM FROM PORT SANILAC TO PORT HURON MI- 822 PM EDT FRI MAY 6 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR LAKE HURON...LAKE ST CLAIR AND THE MICHIGAN WATERS OF LAKE ERIE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTH AND THEN MOVES INTO THE AREA. NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED. ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL MOVE EAST AROUND 20 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN BY SUNDAY...CONTINUING THROUGH TUESDAY...AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES OUT OF THE PLAINS AND SLOWLY CROSSES THE GREAT LAKES REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. CONSIDINE
The Detroit radar (KDTX), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:01 UTC.
2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike sparked a basement fire at a home on McGrandy near Airport. The fire was contained to a single room in the basement.
Lightning caused a fire at a townhouse unit located on West Cabaret Trail.
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, May 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: 5449844, 5449843.