Passage of a strong cold front generated widespread showers and thunderstorms which dumped heavy rain across much of the west half of Upper Michigan on the 25th. A few of the storms in Marquette and Menominee counties turned severe producing large hail.
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 MQT wrote it up.
Passage of a strong cold front generated widespread showers and thunderstorms which dumped heavy rain across much of the west half of Upper Michigan on the 25th. A few of the storms in Marquette and Menominee counties turned severe producing large hail.
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 Marquette, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 24, 3:17 PM EST, 4 hours 43 minutes earlier.
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</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARQUETTE MI 407 PM EDT WED OCT 24 2012 MIZ001>007-009>014-084-085-251200- KEWEENAW-ONTONAGON-NORTHERN HOUGHTON-BARAGA-MARQUETTE-ALGER-LUCE- GOGEBIC-IRON-DICKINSON-MENOMINEE-DELTA-SOUTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- SOUTHERN HOUGHTON-NORTHERN SCHOOLCRAFT- 407 PM EDT WED OCT 24 2012 /307 PM CDT WED OCT 24 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN UPPER MICHIGAN AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT. SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER STORMS...MAINLY OVER THE WESTERN HALF OF UPPER MICHIGAN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA THURSDAY MORNING...BEFORE DIMINISHING WEST TO EAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. LSZ162-240>251-263>267-251200- LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF A LINE FROM SAXON HARBOR WI TO GRAND PORTAGE MN BEYOND 5NM-SAXON HARBOR WI TO BLACK RIVER MI- BLACK RIVER TO ONTONAGON MI- ONTONAGON TO UPPER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL MI- UPPER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL TO EAGLE RIVER MI- EAGLE RIVER TO MANITOU ISLAND MI- MANITOU ISLAND TO POINT ISABELLE MI- POINT ISABELLE TO LOWER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL MI- LOWER ENTRANCE OF PORTAGE CANAL TO HURON ISLANDS MI INCLUDING KEWEENAW AND HURON BAYS-HURON ISLANDS TO MARQUETTE MI- MARQUETTE TO MUNISING MI-MUNISING TO GRAND MARAIS MI- GRAND MARAIS TO WHITEFISH POINT MI- LAKE SUPERIOR FROM SAXON HARBOR WI TO UPPER ENTRANCE TO PORTAGE CANAL MI 5NM OFF SHORE TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER INCLUDING ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK- LAKE SUPERIOR FROM UPPER ENTRANCE TO PORTAGE CANAL TO MANITOU ISLAND MI 5NM OFF SHORE TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER- LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF LINE FROM MANITOU ISLAND TO MARQUETTE MI BEYOND 5NM FROM SHORE- LAKE SUPERIOR EAST OF A LINE FROM MANITOU ISLAND TO MARQUETTE MI AND WEST OF A LINE FROM GRAND MARAIS MI TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER BEYOND 5NM FROM SHORE- LAKE SUPERIOR FROM GRAND MARAIS MI TO WHITEFISH POINT MI 5NM OFF SHORE TO THE US/CANADIAN BORDER- 407 PM EDT WED OCT 24 2012 /307 PM CDT WED OCT 24 2012/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN LAKE SUPERIOR...CENTRAL LAKE SUPERIOR AND WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. DENSE FOG WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. SEE THE LATEST OPEN WATER FORECAST FOR LAKE SUPERIOR OR MARINE WEATHER MESSAGE FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN LAKE SUPERIOR THURSDAY. WESTERLY GALES TO 35 KNOTS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL LAKE SUPERIOR THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. LMZ221-248-250-251200- GREEN BAY NORTH OF LINE FROM CEDAR RIVER MI TO ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE-SEUL CHOIX POINT TO POINT DETOUR MI- 5NM EAST OF A LINE FROM FAIRPORT MI TO ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE- 407 PM EDT WED OCT 24 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FROM LATE EVENING ON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... THE NEED FOR WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. KF
The Marquette radar (KMQT), 126 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:02 UTC.
6 heavy rain, 5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Locations throughout Ontonagon County measured between two to three inches of rainfall during the event.
The Ottawa National Forest Visitor Center in Watersmeet measured 2.75 inches of rainfall during the event.
The USGS rain gauge at Kenton measured 2.37 inches of rainfall during the event.
The USGS rain gauge near Covington measured 2.40 inches of rainfall during the event.
The USGS rain gauge at Crystal Falls measured 2.37 inches of rainfall during the event.
The National Weather Service in Negaunee Township measured 2.21 inches of rainfall on the 25th, smashing the previous daily record of 0.32 inches. The rainfall total was also the second highest daily rainfall total ever recorded at WFO Marquette for the month of October. An NWS employee just east of Marquette measured 2.50 inches of rainfall during the event. Spotters in Witch Lake and six miles east of Champion also measured over two inches of rainfall.
Hail to one inch in diameter was reported near Negaunee.
It hailed at the Marquette NWS office for five minutes. Most of the hail stones were penny-sized, but a few were the size of nickels.
An auto dealership just northeast of Negaunee reported significant damage to four cars from hail. Hail size was estimated using other reports from the area.
Penny-sized hail was reported in Negaunee.
Penny-sized hail fell for two minutes...then very heavy rain followed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, October 2012
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: 411134, 411132, 411139, 411141, 411140, 411138, 411127, 411130, 411907, 411131, 411135.