Severe thunderstorms that impacted eastern Wisconsin with wind gusts of up to 80 mph during the early morning hours on August 7th diminished somewhat as they crossed Lake Michigan, but still produced reports of 60 to 70 mph wind gusts and some damage from Big Sable Point east southeast to Evart.
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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.
Severe thunderstorms that impacted eastern Wisconsin with wind gusts of up to 80 mph during the early morning hours on August 7th diminished somewhat as they crossed Lake Michigan, but still produced reports of 60 to 70 mph wind gusts and some damage from Big Sable Point east southeast to Evart.
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 Aug 7, 1:40 AM EST, 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 240 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013 .SYNOPSIS... ISSUED AT 240 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013 A COLD FRONT WILL BRING STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM EARLY THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS BEING THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. MAINLY FAIR WEATHER WITH SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES IS ANTICIPATED LATE THIS WEEK THROUGH THE WEEKEND ALTHOUGH A COLD FRONT WILL BRING A SMALL CHANCE OF A SHOWER ON FRIDAY. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 240 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013 OUR PRIMARY SHORT TERM FCST CHALLENGE IS TO DETERMINE SEVERE WX POTENTIAL TODAY. RGNL RADAR TRENDS EARLY THIS MORNING SHOW A VERY WELL DEVELOPED MCS WITH HIGH WINDS OVER EAST CENTRAL WI AND WEST CENTRAL LAKE MI. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE INTO OUR NW FCST AREA AND POTENTIALLY BRING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. EXTRAPOLATION OF RADAR TRENDS CORROBORATED WITH 00Z 4KM WRF-NMM SIM Z GUIDANCE AND COLD FRONTAL TIMING SUGGESTS THAT THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP ACROSS OUR AREA FROM THE EARLY MORNING HOURS TODAY THROUGH AROUND 18Z THIS AFTERNOON. STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ARE LIKELY THIS MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON GIVEN SUFFICIENT MOISTURE... LIFT FROM THE FRONT AND WEAK TO POTENTIALLY MODERATE INSTABILITY. 0-6KM BULK SHEAR VALUES OF 35-40 KTS ARE ALSO FAVORABLE FOR STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS FROM EARLY THIS MORNING THROUGH AROUND TO SHORTLY AFTER MIDDAY. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS ARE THE PRIMARY SVR WX THREAT. THE REMAINDER OF THE SHORT TERM FCST PERIOD LOOKS TRANQUIL AS A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE BUILDS IN TONIGHT THROUGH TOMORROW. ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH OUR AREA ON FRIDAY BRINGING A REINFORCING SHOT OF COOLER AIR AND A SLIGHT CHC OF A SHOWER OR STORM. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 245 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013 NO IMPACT WEATHER IN THE EXTENDED AS COOL CANADIAN SURFACE HIGH IS IN CONTROL THROUGH THE WEEKEND. A FEW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE EARLY NEXT WEEK AS ANOTHER REINFORCING COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z WEDNESDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 1136 PM EDT TUE AUG 6 2013 THE MAIN QUESTION IS THE CONVECTION OVER EASTERN MINNESOTA AND WESTERN WISCONSIN... CAN IT REACH SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN BEFORE DISSIPATING? THE HRRR CONTINUES TO SLOW DOWN THE ARRIVAL TIME OF THE CONVECTION INTO SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN. USING THE TIMING TOOL SEVERAL TIME I FIND THE SAME TREND... EVEN WITH THE 45 KNOT SPEED OF THE CONVECTION... IT IS SLOWER EACH TIME I CHECK. AS OF 0330Z IT NOW SUGGESTS MKG AROUND 10Z AND GRR AROUND 11Z AND 12Z FOR AZO AND BTL. SO I SLOWED THE TIMING IN THE TAFS. THE CONVECTION ON THE COLD FRONT SHOULD STILL DEVELOP EAST OF US-131 EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON. IT MAY IMPACT LAN AND JXN MORE SO THAN AZO AND BTL EVEN SO I KEPT THE VCTS IN THOSE TAF SITES... AZO...BTL...LAN AND JXN JUST IN CASE. && .MARINE... ISSUED AT 240 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013 WINDS WILL VEER TO THE WEST THEN NORTHWEST TO NORTH TODAY BEHIND THE COLD FRONT AND CAUSE WAVE HEIGHTS TO RAMP UP SOMEWHAT. HOWEVER WINDS AND WAVE HEIGHTS SHOULD REMAIN BELOW SCA CRITERIA. THUNDERSTORMS WITH HIGH WINDS WILL POSE A HAZARD TO MARINERS THIS MORNING. && .HYDROLOGY... ISSUED AT 240 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013 NO SIGNIFICANT HYDRO ISSUES ANTICIPATED WITH RAINFALL TODAY NOT EXPECTED TO BE VERY HEAVY IN TERMS OF BASIN AVERAGE QPF AMOUNTS... THOUGH HEAVIEST STORMS COULD CERTAINLY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND SOME URBAN AND SMALL STREAM TYPE FLOODING ISSUES THIS MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. BASIN AVERAGE QPF AMOUNTS OF ONLY AROUND A QUARTER TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH ARE EXPECTED BUT HEAVIEST STORMS COULD EASILY PRODUCE LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OF AN INCH OR TWO. && .GRR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MI...NONE. LM...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...LAURENS SHORT TERM...LAURENS LONG TERM...OSTUNO AVIATION...WDM HYDROLOGY...LAURENS MARINE...LAURENS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 300 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013 MIZ037>040-043>046-050>052-056>059-064>067-071>074-080700- MASON-LAKE-OSCEOLA-CLARE-OCEANA-NEWAYGO-MECOSTA-ISABELLA-MUSKEGON- MONTCALM-GRATIOT-OTTAWA-KENT-IONIA-CLINTON-ALLEGAN-BARRY-EATON- INGHAM-VAN BUREN-KALAMAZOO-CALHOUN-JACKSON- 300 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FROM EARLY THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS BEING THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NONE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY. LMZ844>849-080700- 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- 300 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FROM EARLY THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS BEING THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY. LAURENS
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
228 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013
MIZ037-038-043-044-070830-
LAKE-MASON-NEWAYGO-OCEANA-
228 AM EDT WED AUG 7 2013
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY...
AT 226 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS 40 MILES WEST OF BIG SABLE POINT...MOVING EAST
SOUTHEAST AT 50 MPH.
WIND GUSTS GREATER THAN 50 MPH...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS...ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
LUDINGTON... PENTWATER... BALDWIN...
NEWAYGO... FREESOIL... SHELBY...
IRONS... BITELY... FREMONT...
LUTHER... WHITE CLOUD... BIG SABLE POINT...
LAKE MICHIGAN RECREATION AREA... HAMLIN LAKE...
LUDINGTON STATE PARK...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
GUSTY WINDS MAY CAUSE SMALL BRANCHES TO BE BLOWN DOWN...AND LOOSE
OBJECTS TO BLOW AROUND. STAY AWAY FROM HIGH OBJECTS OUTDOORS SUCH AS
TREES. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THIS STORM HAS
PASSED.
&&
LAT...LON 4416 8556 4329 8557 4329 8604 4347 8604
4347 8647 4366 8654 4377 8645 4383 8643
4406 8653 4418 8639
TIME...MOT...LOC 0627Z 289DEG 43KT 4413 8727
LAURENSThe NCL Michigan radar (KAPX), 128 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:29 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Lake county emergency management reported that numerous trees were blown down throughout Lake county with widespread power outages.
A 61 mph measured gust was reported by a mesonet station at Big Sable Point and several trees were blown down across portions of Mason county.
The public reported that multiple trees were blown down just west of Evart and across portions of Osceola county.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Michigan in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, August 2013
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: 467929, 467927, 467932.