Lightning — Genesee, Michigan

1999-07-23 · near Fenton, Genesee, Michigan

Event narrative

A thunderstorm quickly rolled into Silver Lake Park near Fenton. Beachgoers at the park quickly gathered up their things and raced to their cars, but the last group off the beach was not quite quick enough. Lightning struck an adult female and an eight year old girl, about five feet away from their car. Rescue workers were briefly able to resuscitate the adult, but she died soon after arriving at a local hospital. The girl was treated for her injuries at the hospital, and was released the following day.

Wider weather episode

This was a hot and extremely humid day in southeast Michigan. Temperatures approached 90 degrees during the afternoon, with dew points as high as 80. This resulted in a very unstable airmass across the area. A trough of low pressure moved east into the western Great Lakes by late morning, and thunderstorms ignited along the trough. These storms moved southeast into Michigan, and a large number of them became severe.The first severe report was dime sized hail in southwest Midland County. That would be the only severe hail event; the rest of the day was filled with damaging wind gusts. A 66 mph gust was measured at the National Weather Service office in White Lake, while a spotter estimated 70 mph winds near downtown Detroit.Most the damage caused by the wind involved downed trees and power lines. Trees were downed onto homes in the city of Midland, White Lake, Lake Orion, Pontiac, and Deerfield Township (Lapeer County). Deerfield Township was especially hard hit, as some roads were closed for several days due to tree debris. A number of tents at the Ann Arbor Art Fair were demolished. Vehicles were destroyed in White Lake and Port Huron when trees fell on them. A large awning was blown off the roof of a Canton strip mall, and the roof of a hangar at the Oakland County International Airport in Waterford was displaced by the wind. Panelling was torn off the press box at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. In St Clair Shores, a garage collapsed, moored sailboats were tipped over, and part of an aluminum roof was peeled off a warehouse.Locally heavy rainfall occurred with some of the thunderstorms, especially in metro Detroit. Freeway underpasses were flooded in Detroit, as were fifty basements in Dearborn. The thunderstorm hazard resulted in over a hundred flights at Detroit Metropolitan Airport being either delayed or cancelled. The Reform Party national convention in Dearborn was seriously disrupted, as several scheduled speakers - including Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura - could not fly into Detroit.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5708074. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.