Lightning struck some pine trees close to where four construction workers were standing at Ferris State University, injuring two of them. An isolated severe thunderstorm brought down several trees two miles north northeast of Fremont.
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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 GRR wrote it up.
Lightning struck some pine trees close to where four construction workers were standing at Ferris State University, injuring two of them. An isolated severe thunderstorm brought down several trees two miles north northeast of Fremont.
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 Jul 22, 6:54 AM EST, 1 hour 51 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 754 AM EDT WED JUL 22 2009 LATEST UPDATE...AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS...(432 AM EDT WED JUL 22 2009) LOW PRESSURE OVER THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY WILL DRAW GULF MOISTURE NORTHWARD INTO MICHIGAN TODAY BRINGING SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. THIS LOW WILL BE A SLOW MOVER...MOVING NORTHEAST TO JUST EAST OF LAKE HURON BY THURSDAY. AS A RESULT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL LINGER TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY. AFTER A QUIET THURSDAY NIGHT...MORE RAIN RETURNS ON FRIDAY AS A COLD FRONT PUSHING IN. && .SHORT TERM...(432 AM EDT WED JUL 22 2009) (TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY) A LONG WAVE UPPER TROUGH AXIS WAS OVER EASTER WISCONSIN THIS MORNING. THIS WILL BE A VERY SLOW MOVING TROUGH AS IT WILL BE BLOCKED BY A STRONG UPPER HIGH OVER THE ATLANTIC. IT WILL TAKE UNTIL THURSDAY EVENING BEFORE THE AXIS IS TO OUR EAST. THEREFORE IT WILL BE AN UNSETTLED PERIOD TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THE BEST CHANCES FOR PCPN WILL COME TODAY INTO THIS EVENING AS LOW PRESSURE OVER WESTERN TN/KY MOVES NE TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES. THIS FEATURE WILL PULL GULF MOISTURE NORTHWARD PRODUCING ON AND OFF SHOWERS. ENOUGH INSTABILITY WILL BE PRESENT TO MAINTAIN THE MENTION OF THUNDER. WILL CONTINUE WITH CHANCE POPS ON THURSDAY AS THE LOW PULLS AWAY. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AS ANY EARLY SUNSHINE DEVELOPS INSTABILITY THROUGH THE DAY. LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE OVER THE REGION AND THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF THE UPPER JET WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE MORE PCPN. THE BEST CHANCE OF SEEING PCPN ON THURSDAY WILL BE ACROSS THE EASTERN CWA WHERE THE DEEPEST MOISTURE WILL STILL PREVAIL. SHORT WAVE RIDGING MOVES IN FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND WE SHOULD STAY DRY FOR THIS PERIOD. HOWEVER...A COLD FRONT WILL BE PUSHING ACROSS WISCONSIN ON FRIDAY AND SHOWERS AND STORMS SHOULD RETURN THROUGH THE DAY. && .LONG TERM...(432 AM EDT WED JUL 22 2009) (FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY) MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT FOR SEVERAL RUNS NOW IN SHOWING A HIGH PROBABILITY OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS ON FRIDAY NIGHT. THE LOW LEVEL JET SHOULD GET CRANKING AS DEEPENING H5 TROUGH/UPPER LOW DIGS IN FROM THE NW AND THE APPROACHING SFC SYSTEM STRENGTHENS. THE NOCTURNAL MCS AND SFC COLD FRONT ARE EXPECTED TO EXIT SATURDAY MORNING... BUT MORE DIURNAL CONVECTION MAY STILL DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOON ESPECIALLY WELL INLAND FROM LAKE MICHIGAN SINCE THE UPPER LOW AND ASSOCIATED COLD POOL WILL BE OVERHEAD. THE UPPER LOW IS NOW PROGGED TO LIFT OUT TO THE NORTH SUNDAY WHICH IMPLIES LOW PROBABILITIES/COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS. HOWEVER AM NOT COMFORTABLE REMOVING POPS COMPLETELY WITH A SWIFT NW FLOW ALOFT AND SOME AFTERNOON INSTABILITY ESPECIALLY INLAND FROM LAKE MICHIGAN. MONDAY APPEARS BE A RATHER WARM/DRY DAY AS H8 AIR OF 16-17C ADVECTS IN FROM THE WEST/SOUTHWEST AHEAD OF THE NEXT DIGGING H5 TROUGH TO THE NW. THAT TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED COLD FONT WILL BRING OUR NEXT CHANCE OF SHOWERS/TSTMS LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. && .AVIATION...(754 AM EDT WED JUL 22 2009) MVFR/IFR FOG EXISTS AT 12Z. VSBYS SHOULD IMPROVE BY 15Z OR SO AS WINDS COME UP A BIT. COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE OVER THE AREA TOWARD/AFTER 18Z AS DIURNAL EFFECTS COMBINE WITH LIFT/PVA ASSOCIATED WITH BROAD NEG TILT H5 TROUGH OVER THE REGION. SOME CB TOPS WILL REACH TO 35K FEET. SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL LIKELY PERSIST TONIGHT DUE TO PERSISTENT TROUGHING... AND CIGS/VSBYS WILL PROBABLY LOWER TO WIDESPREAD IFR DUE TO ABUNDANT LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND LGT/CALM WINDS. && .MARINE...(432 AM EDT WED JUL 22 2009) MAIN MARINE CONCERN OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS WILL BE THE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE RAIN SHOWERS. EASTERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT AND WAVES WILL REMAIN LOW. THE WINDS WILL TURN NORTHWESTERLY TOWARD DAYBREAK ON THURSDAY AS LOW PRESSURE DRIFTS BY. WIND SPEEDS WILL PICK UP AND THE LAKE COULD BECOME A BIT ROUGH BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. DIMINISHING WINDS AND WAVES ARE EXPECTED AFTER SUNSET THURSDAY EVENING. && .HYDROLOGY...(432 AM EDT WED JUL 22 2009) DESPITE THE LENGTHY CHANCES FOR RAIN TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY WE ARE EXPECTING MOST BASIN AVERAGE AMOUNTS TO BE FROM ONE HALF TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH. THE RIVERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE THIS AMOUNT WITHOUT A PROBLEM. && .GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...NONE. LM...NONE. && SYNOPSIS: JK SHORT TERM: JK LONG TERM: MEADE AVIATION: MEADE MARINE: JK HYDROLOGY: JK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 515 AM EDT WED JUL 22 2009 LMZ844>849-MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-230900- ST JOSEPH TO SOUTH HAVEN MI-SOUTH HAVEN TO HOLLAND MI- HOLLAND TO GRAND HAVEN MI-GRAND HAVEN TO WHITEHALL MI- WHITEHALL TO PENTWATER MI-PENTWATER TO MANISTEE MI-MASON-LAKE- OSCEOLA-CLARE-OCEANA-NEWAYGO-MECOSTA-ISABELLA-MUSKEGON-MONTCALM- GRATIOT-OTTAWA-KENT-IONIA-CLINTON-ALLEGAN-BARRY-EATON-INGHAM- VAN BUREN-KALAMAZOO-CALHOUN-JACKSON- 515 AM EDT WED JUL 22 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE...BUT WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS. STORM MOTION WILL BE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH AT AROUND 10 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY AND ALSO ON TUESDAY. THE HIGHEST PROBABILITY OF STORMS IS ON FRIDAY NIGHT. SOME OF THE STORMS AT THAT TIME COULD BE STRONG AND PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. MEADE
The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:47 UTC.
1 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A non severe morning thunderstorm produced lightning that struck pine trees very close to where four construction workers were standing, injuring all of them. This occurred at Ferris State University in Big Rapids.
Newaygo county emergency management reported that several trees were blown down in the road near the intersection of 32nd Avenue and Luce.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, July 2009
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: 175950, 175949.