Marine Thunderstorm Wind — Sleeping Bear Point To Grand Traverse Light Mi, Lake Michigan

2025-06-21 · near Leland, Sleeping Bear Point To Grand Traverse Light Mi, Lake Michigan

Event narrative

Wind gusts at Leland, MI estimated around 40mph.

Wider weather episode

An unseasonably hot and humid air mass in place across the Midwest led to the development of storms late on the evening of the 20th across the Northern Plains. These congealed into a thunderstorm complex over the Upper Midwest, tracking eastward along the perimeter of a strong upper level ridge, into the Upper Great Lakes on the morning of the 21st. A NW-SE oriented broken line of storms developed along a warm advection axis ahead of the initial line of storms; this produced hail up to the size of golf balls across parts of northern Lower Michigan, including the Traverse City metro area. Meanwhile, the original complex of storms began to wane in intensity, becoming a strong mesolow, which crossed Lake Superior during the morning hours and resulted in significant water level changes and attendant coastal impacts across the entirety of Lake Superior.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (45.0200, -85.7600)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1289446. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.