Hail in Iron County, Michigan

Warm air and gulf moisture surging north ahead of a surface low pressure area over the Northern Plains helped fuel thunderstorms which developed late on June 8th and the early morning of the 9th. The thunderstorms developed along and north of a warm front and were aided by widespread converging air in the low levels and divergence aloft. Shortly after midnight, a line of thunderstorms moved from Gogebic County, east, through southern Iron and central Dickinson Counties, producing large hail which damaged homes and vehicles in Iron River and Randville. An eye-witness reported hail falling so hard, it seemed like a snowstorm. About 700 vehicles and 575 homes suffered hail damage, mostly in a west-southwest to east-northeast hail swath 1 1/2 to 2 miles wide across the northern two-thirds of the city of Iron River. The greatest damage, about $2.3M, was to roofs and vinyl siding. Stambaugh and Gaastra, immediately south of Iron River, and Alpha, about 12 miles east-southeast of Iron River, also experienced large hail but little property damage. Thunderstorm winds were light and did not exacerbate the hail damage. Ping-pong ball size hail in the Randville-Grand Bluff area in west-central Dickinson County shattered plastic patio furniture, broke windows, and damaged homes and vehicles. The Dickinson County Emergency Management Coordinator estimates the hail storm caused $75K damage to about 20 vehicles plus $150K damage to 20 houses in the Randville-Grand Bluff area.