A five day heat wave occured from July 4th-July 8th. High temperatures climbed into the lower 90s across most areas, producing heat indices in the mid 90s to around 100 degrees.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 episode as NWS DTX wrote it up.
A five day heat wave occured from July 4th-July 8th. High temperatures climbed into the lower 90s across most areas, producing heat indices in the mid 90s to around 100 degrees. Little relief occured during the overnight hours as lows hovered at or above 70 degrees. Two heat related fatalities were reported. Here are the recorded high temperatures at Detroit Metro over the 5 day stretch: 91, 93, 92, 94, 93.
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 Jul 4, 2:08 PM EST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 308 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2010 .SHORT TERM...TODAY SURGE OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE (SFC/850 MB/700MB) IS TAKING PLACE THIS AFTERNOON AS UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AXIS SLIDES OFF TO THE EAST. WITH SURFACE DEW PTS OF 70 DEGREES ENTERING THE WEST OF SIDE OF THE STATE...SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY HAS RAMPED UP...WITH CAPES CLIMBING IN EXCESS OF 1000 J/KG...WITH LITTLE OR NO CIN. THUS...IT IS CONCEIVABLE ISOLATED SHOWER/THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE TRIGGERED...AS SEEN IN LOCAL 15Z HIRES REFLECTIVITY. HOWEVER...WITH LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ZONES DIFFICULT TO FIND (OUTSIDE OF LAKE MICHIGAN INFLUENCE)...SKINNY CAPE...AND LOTS OF MID LEVEL DRY AIR (ENTRAINMENT)...SUSPECT WE MAY GET BY DRY...BUT WITH NAM/GFS AND PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED HIRES RUN TRIGGERING AND FORECASTED SURFACE DEW PTS MATCHING UP FAIRLY WELL...WILL CARRY A SLIGHT CHANCE INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS...AS THERE IS A DECENT CU FIELD APPROACHING. WITH MAXES PEAKING OUT A 90+ DEGREES...STEADY LIGHT SOUTHWEST WIND TONIGHT AND THE HIGHER DEW PTS...LOOKING AT MINS ONLY FALLING INTO THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S. && .LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY UPPER RIDGE CENTERED JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE REGION WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE HOT AND INCREASINGLY HUMID WEATHER FOR SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE UPCOMING WEEK. THE STRENGTH AND HENCE POSITIONING OF THIS UPPER RIDGE WILL ALSO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN SUBDUING THUNDERSTORM CHANCES...OR MORE APPROPRIATELY...KEEPING THE FOCUS FOR BETTER THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE POSITIONED WELL NORTHWEST OF THE REGION WHILE MINIMIZING STRAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACTIVITY ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY. WILL MAINTAIN THE GOING FORECAST ADJUSTMENT MADE BY THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT AS IT APPEARS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN THIS RIDGE AND A DEVELOPING UPPER TROUGH OVER THE NORTH CENTRAL PART OF THE CONUS WILL REMAIN WEST OF THE AREA UNTIL AT LEAST WEDNESDAY. AS FOR TEMPERATURES...WILL MAINTAIN THE LOWER 90S ON MONDAY/TUESDAY AND SLOWLY EDGE THEM BACK THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. THIS "COOLING" BACK TO NORMAL SUMMERTIME LEVELS IN THE LOWER 80S BY LATE IN THE WEEK WILL RESULT FROM THE PASSAGE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED FRONTAL BOUNDARY AS A DECENT SHORTWAVE TROUGH ROTATES UP THE FRONT SIDE OF THE UPPER TROUGH TO OUR WEST...ALLOWING HEIGHTS TO FALL ON THE NORTHWEST PERIPHERY OF THE UPPER HIGH. IN FACT...THIS TREND CONTINUES INTO NEXT WEEK AS THE NET POSITION OF THE UPPER TROUGH SHIFTS STEADILY EAST INTO THE GREAT LAKES...FORCING THE UPPER RIDGE TO FLATTEN AND SHIFT WELL SOUTH OF THE REGION BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. THE BEST CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL COME ON WEDNESDAY AS THE FRONT PROGRESSES THROUGH THE AREA AND A BIT BETTER LIFT/FORCING. STILL...UPPER SUPPORT IS MINIMAL AND INSTABILITY MODEST IN SUCH A MOISTURE LADEN ENVIRONMENT (IE...VERY UNIMPRESSIVE LAPSE RATES AOA 650 MB). SO...DO NOT EXPECT ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER. IN FACT...THE OVERALL POTENTIAL FOR ORGANIZED CONVECTION PERIOD IS PRETTY SMALL. ABOUT THE ONLY CONCERN WOULD BE LOCALLY TORRENTIAL RAINFALL...BUT WITH THUNDERSTORMS RATHER HIT/MISS...ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF THE REGION WILL BE EFFECTED IN THE END. BEYOND THAT...SCATTERED SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AGAIN BY LATE IN THE WEEK AS ADDITIONAL SHORTWAVE ENERGY CONTINUES TO FLOW IN AROUND THE BASE OF THE UPPER TROUGH TO OUR WEST/NORTHWEST AND CONTINUES THE PROCESS OF BUILDING THIS FEATURE IN THE AREA. && .MARINE... A SERIES OF LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS WILL BRING UNSETTLED WEATHER INTO THE CENTRAL GREAT LAKES DURING THE WORK WEEK. DESPITE THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...WINDS AND WAVES WILL REMAIN RELATIVELY LIGHT...STAYING WELL BELOW SMALL CRAFT CRITERIA THROUGH FRIDAY. && .PREV DISCUSSION...ISSUED 102 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2010 AVIATION... SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 8 TO 16 KNOTS WILL CONTINUE TO ADVECT MOISTURE INTO LOWER MICHIGAN THIS AFTERNOON...SUPPORTING SCT CU DEVELOPMENT. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AXIS WILL CONTINUE TO BECOME BETTER ESTABLISHED OVER SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW...SUPPORTING SCT-BKN CLOUDS (5-15 KFT) WITH THE LOW PROBABILITY OF A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM...ESPECIALLY NORTHERN TAF SITES. && .DTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...NONE. LAKE HURON...NONE. LAKE ST CLAIR...NONE. MI WATERS OF LAKE ERIE...NONE. && SHORT TERM...SF LONG TERM....DG MARINE.......SF AVIATION.....SF YOU CAN OBTAIN YOUR LATEST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS ONLINE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DETROIT (ALL LOWER CASE).
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 310 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2010 MIZ049-053>055-060>063-050930- HURON-SAGINAW-TUSCOLA-SANILAC-SHIAWASSEE-GENESEE-LAPEER-ST. CLAIR- 310 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE THUMB... SAGINAW VALLEY AND FLINT REGIONS. .DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A THUNDERSTORM THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING AS HUMID AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA. IF A STORM DEVELOPS...IT SHOULD NOT BE SEVERE...BUT MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL. STORM MOTION WILL BE NORTHEAST AROUND 30 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL SLIDE INTO LOWER MICHIGAN ON MONDAY BEFORE STALLING ACROSS NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN. THIS FEATURE WILL BRING A CONTINUED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. ANOTHER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS THEN EXPECTED FROM THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. LCZ422-423-460-LEZ444-LHZ361>363-421-422-441>443-462>464-050930- ST. CLAIR RIVER-DETROIT RIVER-LAKE ST. CLAIR- MICHIGAN WATERS OF LAKE ERIE FROM DETROIT RIVER TO NORTH CAPE MI- LAKE HURON FROM 5NM EAST OF MACKINAC BRIDGE TO PRESQUE ISLE LT BEYOND 5 NM OFF SHORE- LAKE HURON FROM PRESQUE ISLE LIGHT TO STURGEON POINT MI BEYOND 5NM OFF SHORE- LAKE HURON FROM STURGEON POINT TO ALABASTER MI BEYOND 5NM OFF SHORE- OUTER SAGINAW BAY SW OF ALABASTER TO PORT AUSTIN MI TO INNER SAGINAW BAY-INNER SAGINAW BAY SW OF POINT AU GRES TO BAY PORT MI- PORT AUSTIN TO HARBOR BEACH MI-HARBOR BEACH TO PORT SANILAC MI- PORT SANILAC TO PORT HURON MI- LAKE HURON FROM PORT AUSTIN TO HARBOR BEACH BEYOND 5NM OFF SHORE- LAKE HURON FROM HARBOR BEACH TO PORT SANILAC BEYOND 5NM OFF SHORE- LAKE HURON FROM PORT SANILAC TO PORT HURON BEYOND 5NM OFF SHORE- 310 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF LAKE ERIE...LAKE HURON AND LAKE ST CLAIR. .DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A THUNDERSTORM....MAINLY ACROSS NORTHERN LAKE HURON TONIGHT. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE...BUT MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS UP TO 35 KNOTS. THE STORMS WILL MOVE TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 KNOTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL SLIDE INTO LOWER MICHIGAN ON MONDAY BEFORE STALLING ACROSS THE NORTHERN GREAT LAKES. THIS FEATURE WILL BRING A CONTINUED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. ANOTHER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS THEN EXPECTED FROM THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. MIZ068>070-075-076-082-083-050930- LIVINGSTON-OAKLAND-MACOMB-WASHTENAW-WAYNE-LENAWEE-MONROE- 310 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR FAR SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A THUNDERSTORM THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING AS HUMID AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA. IF A STORM DEVELOPS...IT SHOULD NOT BE SEVERE...BUT MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL. STORM MOTION WILL BE NORTHEAST AROUND 30 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL SLIDE INTO LOWER MICHIGAN ON MONDAY BEFORE STALLING ACROSS NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN. THIS FEATURE MAY BRING AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. THE HEAT WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY AND TUESDAY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES MAINLY IN THE LOWER 90S. THE AIR MASS WILL BE HUMID CREATING HEAT INDICES IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S...ESPECIALLY FOR THE METRO DETROIT REGION. THIS COMBINATION OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY MAY LEAD TO A HEAT ADVISORY ON MONDAY AND/OR TUESDAY. ANOTHER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS THEN EXPECTED FROM THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. MIZ047-048-050930- MIDLAND-BAY- 310 PM EDT SUN JUL 4 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MIDLAND AND BAY COUNTIES. .DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR MIDLAND AND BAY COUNTIES. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE...BUT MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL. THE STORMS WILL MOVE TO THE NORTHEAST AROUND 30 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL SLIDE INTO LOWER MICHIGAN ON MONDAY BEFORE STALLING ACROSS NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN. THIS FEATURE WILL BRING A CONTINUED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. ANOTHER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS THEN EXPECTED ON THURSDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... DISPATCHERS PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR EMERGENCY MANAGERS IMMEDIATELY. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. RBP/SF YOU CAN OBTAIN YOUR LATEST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS ONLINE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DETROIT (ALL LOWER CASE).
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
An 81 year old Grosse Pointe Farms man was found dead due to the heat in his un-air conditioned home on July 7th.
A 56-year-old homeless woman died in her car Sunday Afternoon July 4th around 3:15 PM in Waterford. The Oakland County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death to be hyperthermia.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Wayne | 2010-07-04 | 81 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Oakland | 2010-07-04 | 56 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, July 2010
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: 249879, 249882, 250260, 250261, 250262, 250263, 250264.