Thunderstorms moved across eastern Lake Superior and Eastern Upper Michigan.
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 episode as NWS APX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms moved across eastern Lake Superior and Eastern Upper Michigan.
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 Jun 4, 12:12 AM EST, 2 hours 47 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI 112 AM EDT SAT JUN 4 2011 .SYNOPSIS.../ISSUED AT 334 PM/ LOW PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS LIFTS TO NEAR HUDSON BAY BY LATE EVENING. THE TRACK OF THIS SYSTEM WILL DRAG A COLD FRONT THROUGH NORTHERN MICHIGAN TONIGHT... PROVIDING INCREASING CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM...HIGH PRESSURE WILL ONCE AGAIN ARRIVE LATER SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY...SETTING UP A RETURN TO DRY WEATHER ALONG WITH QUITE PLEASANT TEMPERATURES. DL/NS && .SHORT TERM.../ISSUED AT 1000 PM/...OVERNIGHT UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AXIS EXTENDS FROM THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY NORTHEASTWARD THRU LAKE MICHIGAN LATE THIS EVENING. JUST UPSTREAM... AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT HAS REACHED THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF THAT FRONT...IMPACTING MAINLY THE ARROWHEAD OF MINNESOTA...NRN WISCONSIN AND UPPER MICHIGAN. SOME SHOWER ACTIVITY HAS BEEN TRYING TO SURVIVE THE TRIP ACROSS THE LAKE INTO THE DRIER MORE STABLE AIRMASS ENTRENCHED ACROSS ERN UPR AND NRN LWR MICHIGAN...BUT MUCH OF THIS WEAK CONVECTION HAS DIED BEFORE REACHING OUR CWA THUS FAR. FURTHER UPSTREAM WITHIN THE TORNADO WATCH... CONVECTION HAS BEEN RATHER LACK-LUSTER SO FAR THIS EVENING. HARD TO SAY EXACTLY WHY VERY LITTLE HAS HAPPENED GIVEN STRONG SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY...A PRONOUNCED 850 MB THETA E RIDGE AND A STRONG/VEERING VERTICAL WIND PROFILE. MID LEVEL WARM AIR MIGHT BE THE CULPRIT... SERVING TO DIMINISH AVAILABLE INSTABILITY. CERTAINLY WE ARE QUICKLY LOOSING ANY LOW LEVEL DIURNAL INSTABILITY WITH SUNSET. THE ONE AREA OF STRONG/SVR CONVECTION THAT HAS DEVELOPED OVER THE PAST HOUR IS NOW MOVING THRU WRN LAKE SUPERIOR...AND APPEARS TO BE ALIGNED WITH THE INITIAL STAGES OF MID LEVEL COOLING. LATEST NAM SHOWS 700 MB TEMPS HAVE FALLEN TO AROUND 7 C WITHIN THIS REGION...WHILE 700 MB TEMPS AT GRB ARE STILL AROUND 12 C PER 00Z SOUNDING. THIS RIDGE OF MID LEVEL WARM AIR WILL SLIDE THRU LWR MICHIGAN WITHIN THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...PUSHING OUR BETTER CHANCE FOR STORMS AND ANY POTENTIAL FOR SVR WX WELL INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. WILL MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO WX/POP FOR THE BALANCE OF THE NIGHT...AND WILL CERTAINLY KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THE EVOLUTION OF UPSTREAM STORMS AS THAT COOLER MID LEVEL AIR GRADUALLY WORKS ITS WAY INTO OUR CWA VERY LATE TONIGHT THRU SATURDAY MORNING PRIOR TO FROPA. RUNYAN && .LONG TERM.../ISSUED AT 334 PM/...SATURDAY AND BEYOND THE CONTROLLING LARGE-SCALE FEATURES THROUGH THE LONG TERM PORTION OF THE FORECAST INCLUDE A NEGATIVE NAO WITH IMPLIED BLOCKING OVER GREENLAND AND THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC. THIS WILL ALLOW A VORTEX TO PRETTY MUCH MAINTAIN ITS LOCATION NEAR HUDSON BAY THROUGH MID TO LATE NEXT WEEK. AT THE SAME TIME AN IMPRESSIVE CYCLONE IS DIVING SOUTHEAST JUST WEST OF THE WESTERN COAST OF NOAM TODAY AND WILL FEED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CUTOFF LOW OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN STATES THIS WEEKEND. MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE IS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT THIS CUTOFF WILL REMAIN FAIRLY PROGRESSIVE...EJECTING EAST EARLY NEXT WEEK. SO...AFTER A PERIOD OF QUITE NORTHWEST FLOW UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE HUDSON BAY VORTEX THROUGH THE WEEKEND...OUR WEATHER WILL BECOMING INCREASINGLY ACTIVE HEADING INTO NEXT WEEK WITH THE APPROACH OF THE EJECTING WESTERN WAVE. INITIAL CONCERNS WILL BE WITH POTENTIAL MCS ACTIVITY TO START THE PERIOD...AND TIMING IT/S EXIT FROM THE CWA. THERE IS REASONABLE AGREEMENT THAT ANY CONVECTION THAT DEVELOPS WILL STILL BE IN THE VICINITY OF NORTHERN LOWER TO START THE DAY. ALSO IN GOOD AGREEMENT IS THAT THE LOW-LEVEL FRONT WILL BE UPSTREAM OF THE AREA AND WILL LIKELY NOT CLEAR MY SOUTHEAST ZONES UNTIL MID-LATE AFTERNOON. SO...THIS SPELLS TWO PRECIPITATION CHANCES...ONE WITH THE LIKELY DECAYING MCS...AND THE SECOND WITH POTENTIAL REDEVELOPMENT OVER SOUTHEASTERN AREAS. HAVE EXTENDED POPS THROUGH MID AFTERNOON FROM KCAD-KGOV-KAPN SOUTH AND EAST FOR THE LATTER POSSIBILITY. AS FOR THE MORNING MCS...WILL EXPAND POPS BACK TO THE NORTH AND WEST TO ACCOUNT FOR THE SLOWING GUIDANCE TREND AND FRONTAL POSITION AT 12Z...BUT MAINTAIN ONLY CHC CATEGORY POPS DURING THE TYPICAL DIURNAL CONVECTIVE MINIMUM WHICH AGAIN SHOULD YIELD A DECAYING PRECIPITATION SHIELD TO START THE DAY. WITH DRIER AIR NOT ARRIVING UNTIL LATE...THE DAY WILL FEEL PRETTY SUMMERY WITH HIGHS OVER NORTHERN LOWER MAKING A RUN AT 80 AWAY FROM THE LAKES WITH DEWPOINTS WELL INTO THE 60S. BUBBLE HIGH SETTLES OVERHEAD SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY WITH LIGHT WINDS AND GRADUAL DRYING. THIS WILL YIELD A MUCH COOLER NIGHT SATURDAY NIGHT...BUT STILL LIKELY ABOVE NORMAL GIVEN RESIDUAL LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S TO LOWER 50S SUPPORTED BY WEIGHTED CONSENSUS GUIDANCE LOOK VERY GOOD. COOLER TEMPS ALOFT ALSO INDICATE COOLER DAYTIME HIGHS ON SUNDAY AND WITH THE DRIER LOW LEVEL AIRMASS EXPECT A VERY COMFORTABLE DAY WITH HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 70S UNDER 10-15 MPH NORTHWEST WINDS. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SQUEAK OUT ANOTHER DRY NIGHT SUNDAY NIGHT AS THE AFOREMENTIONED BUBBLE HIGH SLIDES EAST OF OUR AREA. GIVEN THE POSITION OF THE SURFACE HIGH...EXPECT INTERIOR LOCATIONS TO FALL WELL INTO THE 40S FOR LOWS WITH AREAS CLOSER TO THE LAKE MICHIGAN COAST ONLY FALLING TO NEAR 50 GIVEN A DEVELOPING SOUTHWESTERLY BREEZE TOWARDS DAYBREAK. I COULD SEE SOME BUST POTENTIAL ON THE INTERIOR LOWS AS UPSTREAM CONVECTION OVER MN/IA/WI COULD SPILL SOME MID/UPPER LEVEL CLOUDINESS OVERHEAD. THEREFORE...WILL STAY A SHADE ABOVE THE COOLEST GUIDANCE IN MOST LOCATIONS. OUR NEXT CONVECTIVE EVENT COMES MONDAY/MONDAY NIGHT AS A WEAK IMPULSE IN THE NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT PUSHES A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE REGION. THE RETURN FLOW AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE IS LACK-LUSTER AT BEST WITH SKINNY CAPE PROFILES ALONG WITH LIMITED SURFACE DEWPOINTS. ALSO...OUR POSITION WELL EAST OF THE MID LEVEL RIDGE AXIS SHEDS SOME DOUBT ON A SIGNIFICANT CONVECTIVE THREAT. HOWEVER...IT USUALLY DOESN/T TAKE MUCH OF A FEATURE TO SPAWN PRECIPITATION THIS TIME OF YEAR...AND WITH THE CONVECTION INITIATION REGION OVER MN/IA SHOWING MUCH MORE FAVORABLE CONVECTIVE PARAMETERS...DO THINK THAT SOMETHING IS LIKELY TO DEVELOP AD MOVE TOWARDS OUR REGION. WILL CONTINUE CHC POPS FOR THIS PERIOD...BUT AT THIS TIME FEEL THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER DURING THIS PERIOD IS LOW. GUIDANCE IS HONING IN ON A RESPITE IN THE SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ON TUESDAY AS A WEAK COLD FRONT PUSHES THROUGH THE AREA LATE MONDAY NIGHT WITH BRIEF RIDGING DEVELOPING OVERHEAD. HAVE DECIDED TO REMOVE POPS FOR THE 12Z TUESDAY-12Z WEDNESDAY PERIOD AND WHILE THERE IS INHERENT UNCERTAINTY GIVEN THAT WE/RE DEALING WITH CONVECTION...I DO EXPECT A BREAK BETWEEN THE ACTIVITY MONDAY AND THAT WHICH OCCURS LATER IN THE WEEK AS THE WESTERN TROUGH EJECTS. AS WE MOVE TO THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK...CONDITIONS WILL BECOME MORE UNSETTLED ONCE AGAIN AS THE SHORT WAVE RIDGE AXIS PASSES EAST OF OUR LONGITUDE WITH DEVELOPING DEEP SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WITH IMPULSES EMBEDDED WITHIN THIS FLOW BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WILL LIKELY BE MORE THAN ONE BOUT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WILL CONTINUE MAINTAINING HIGHER POPS OVER EASTERN UPPER ON WEDNESDAY AS RIDGE-RIDER ACTIVITY MAY VERY WELL REMAIN NORTH OF NORTHERN LOWER. BEHIND THIS INITIAL IMPULSE...HOWEVER...THE PRIMARY BAROCLINIC ZONE WILL BE SOMEWHERE IN OUR GENERAL VICINITY AND BELIEVE ALL LOCATIONS ARE EQUALLY UNDER THE GUN. TEMPERATURES CERTAINLY LOOK TO MODERATE FOR WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY UNDER THE AFOREMENTIONED SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WITH HIGHS IN THE MID-UPPER 70S BEING A FEW DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. WILL TREND TEMPERATURES BACK TOWARDS CLIMATOLOGY FOR THE DAY FRIDAY GIVEN UNCERTAINTY IN WHETHER PRIMARY BAROCLINIC ZONE WILL RESIDE NEAR OR EVEN POTENTIALLY SOUTH OF THE REGION. ARNOTT && .MARINE.../ISSUED AT 334 PM/ PRETTY QUIET ON THE MARINE-FRONT LATE THIS AFTERNOON WITH ONLY ONGOING FLAGS BEING SMALL CRAFTS FOR WHITEFISH BAY. THESE SHOULD COME DOWN TONIGHT AS WINDS WEAKEN WITH ARRIVING COLD FRONT. CLEARLY...HOWEVER...THERE IS A THREAT FOR LOCALLY STRONG TO POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WINDS IF A SQUALL LINE ORGANIZES AND MOVES THROUGH THE AREA OVERNIGHT. AFTER CONVECTION PASSES SOUTHEAST OF THE REGION ON SATURDAY...WINDS SHOULD REMAIN QUITE LIGHT WITH CURRENT GRIDS REFLECTING WINDS BELOW SMALL CRAFT LEVELS INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. ARNOTT && .AVIATION.../ISSUED AT 112 AM/...VALID FOR 06Z TAFS UNCERTAINTY REMAINS REGARDING EVENTUAL COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE TERMINAL SITES OVERNIGHT...IN ADVANCE OF A COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE REGION. REGIONAL RADARS SHOW STORMS ONGOING ACROSS THE WESTERN U.P. AND LAKE SUPERIOR...AND SUSPECT THESE WILL CONGEAL INTO SOME SORT OF BROKEN LINE THROUGH 2-4 AM...BEFORE MAKING A RUN TOWARD MOST OF THE TERMINAL SITES LATE TONIGHT. GIVEN UNCERTAINTY HOWEVER...WILL SHOW NO RESTRICTIONS TO VISBY OR CEILINGS...THOUGH CERTAINLY COULD BE A BRIEF PERIOD OF IFR WITHIN ANY HEAVIER STORMS. IN THE WAKE OF ANY PRECIPITATION...SHOULD SEE A PERIOD OF MVFR CEILINGS DEVELOP AS MOISTURE POOLS IN ADVANCE OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT...WITH CEILINGS LIFTING QUICKLY AROUND MIDDAY AS DRIER AIR BEGINS TO ARRIVE. THE LONE EXCEPTION WILL BE APN...WHERE A LATE DAY SHOWER MAY REDEVELOP AHEAD OF THE FRONT... BEFORE SKIES CLEAR OUT WITH LIGHT WINDS TONIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE ARRIVES. LAWRENCE && .APX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...NONE. LH...NONE. LM...NONE. LS...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI 1007 PM EDT FRI JUN 3 2011 LHZ345>349-LMZ323-341-342-344>346-LSZ321-322-MIZ008-015>036-041-042- 041200- STRAITS OF MACKINAC-ST IGNACE TO FALSE DETOUR CHANNEL- MACKINAC BRDG TO PRESQUE ISLE LT-PRESQUE ISLE LT TO STURGEON PT- STURGEON PT TO ALABASTER-GRAND TRAVERSE BAY- SEUL CHOIX PT TO MACKINAC BRDG-NORWOOD TO MACKINAC BRDG- SLEEPING BEAR PT TO GRAND TRAVERSE LT-PT BETSIE TO SLEEPING BEAR PT- MANISTEE TO PT BETSIE-WHITEFISH BAY-ST. MARYS RIVER-CHIPPEWA- MACKINAC-EMMET-CHEBOYGAN-PRESQUE ISLE-CHARLEVOIX-LEELANAU-ANTRIM- OTSEGO-MONTMORENCY-ALPENA-BENZIE-GRAND TRAVERSE-KALKASKA-CRAWFORD- OSCODA-ALCONA-MANISTEE-WEXFORD-MISSAUKEE-ROSCOMMON-OGEMAW-IOSCO- GLADWIN-ARENAC- 1007 PM EDT FRI JUN 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN... EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN...AND ADJACENT NEARSHORE WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN...LAKE HURON AND LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...OVERNIGHT THERE IS A RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVERNIGHT ACROSS EASTERN UPPER AND MUCH OF NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR STORMS WILL OCCUR BETWEEN 3 AM AND 8 AM. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WILL BE THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT...ALTHOUGH SOME STORMS ARE ALSO CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL OF UP TO AN INCH IN DIAMETER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THERE IS A LINGERING CHANCE FOR A THUNDERSTORM ACROSS NORTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN ON SATURDAY. THERE ARE ALSO CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...AND AGAIN WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED OVERNIGHT. AJS/RUNYAN
The Marquette radar (KMQT), 200 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:01 UTC.
3 marine thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Lake Superior in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather history
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 326387, 326388, 326390.