Lake Michigan, 2017

Waterspout in Lake Michigan, September 5, 2017

September 5, 2017 · NWS APX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Showers produced a waterspout over Lake Michigan.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS APX wrote it up.

Showers produced a waterspout over Lake Michigan.

What forecasters said that day

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 Sep 5, 9:11 AM EST, 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 5, 9:11 AM EST, 46 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 5, 9:45 AM EST, 12 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 5, 9:07 AM EST, 50 minutes before
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The radar

The NCL Michigan radar (KAPX), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.

Waterspout, Sleeping Bear Point to Grand Traverse Light Mi

When
September 5, 9:57 AM EST to 10:15 AM EST
Where
Sleeping Bear Point to Grand Traverse Light Mi forecast zone, 5.97 mi NE of Leland
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
45.087, -85.703

A waterspout was sighted by the public off of Gills Pier.

What these are

Waterspout
A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Lake Michigan in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather history

Sources

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: 723306.