When the Dams Broke in Midland

Ashman Road Level by Charles Bonham

Four years ago the city of Midland and surrounding area was inundated by a 500-year flood. I thought this story by Anna Clark in Belt Magazine about the experience of the Director of the Grace Dow Library in Midland when the dams broke was an interesting angle through which to view this devastating event.

The failure of the dams was the end result of years of deferred maintenance, negligence, and federal and state regulation unable to prevent a life-changing deluge. It threatened public safety, homes, senior residences, schools, and businesses, all of which were already vulnerable from the coronavirus pandemic.

Charles took this photo in downtown Midland right the day after the flood on May 20th. You can see lots more in his Midland, Sanford & Edenville MI Flood of June 2020 gallery on Flickr!

May 7, 2024 Kalamazoo Tornado

Kalamazoo Tornado by Lori Higgins

Early last night, the Kalamazoo/Portage area was rocked by tornadoes:

The storms rolled through around 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., causing thousands to lose power. Some of the heaviest damage was concentrated around Westnedge Avenue, Centre Avenue and Oakland Drive, according to Portage city officials.

The FedEx building at 6701 Portage Road sustained a direct hit from one of the reported tornadoes. The roof of the building caved in, leaving the interior exposed. After the storm passed, 50 employees were trapped inside as crews worked to remove dangerous wires so rescue efforts could commence. First responders eventually helped them all out of the building, Tuesday night.

Another spot with major damage was Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Park, 6830 East N Ave. in Pavilion Township, just east of Portage. About 17 of the homes were totally demolished and 173 had some degree of damage, according to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office.

Click through for more from mLive. Lori’s photo was shared far & wide including by Michigan Native Photography who shared a bunch of photos (by other photographers) of the damage. Stay safe everyone and LISTEN to the weather forecasters when they tell you to beware. Turns out they can be right a lot of the time!!

More Michigan tornados on Michigan in Pictures.

Shelf cloud over the Mackinac Bridge

Shelf Cloud Over Mackinac Bridge by Michigan Native Photography

I saw a couple other photos of this cloud as it rolled across the Straits of Mackinac & northeast Michigan the other day but wowzas – the Mighty Mac takes it!! Our friends at the Earth Science Picture of the Day have an excellent post on the difference between roll clouds & shelf clouds:

Roll clouds and shelf clouds are found near the leading edge of thunderstorms and form when relatively cool air, from the storm’s downdraft, forges ahead into the warm, moist air that’s feeding the storm. The main difference between roll clouds and shelf clouds (both are called arcus clouds) is that a roll cloud is detached from the parent thunderstorm, whereas a shelf cloud (right) is affixed to the base of a cumulonimbus cloud.

NOTE: Just learned that this picture is from 2018 – still love it! (buy it here)

You can follow Michigan Native Photography on Facebook or Instagram and view & purchase more work on their website.

There’s more weird, wild Michigan weather on Michpics including a monster roll cloud over Lake Michigan from June of 2016.

That Summertime Vibe…

Summertime by Charles Bonham

This pic of a kid deep in his vibes in Leland’s Fishtown from a decade ago is one of my all-time favorite photos. It’s also kind of perfect for news from mLive meteorologist Mark Torregrossa that Michigan (well southern Michigan at least) might hit 70 degrees multiple times next week! Mark offers the caveat that the problem with temperature forecasts in Michigan in April & May is that even light north winds can work with Lake Michigan or Huron to push cold air down the lake. Pretty cool article – check it out at mLive.

See more in Charles’s Funky Photos and/or Leland/MI Fishtown galleries on Flickr!

February 3rd: Plowback Thursday

Plow Extra Grant by Russell Sekeet

The possibly legendary southeast Michigan snowstorm fizzled, so in case you were fired up for it, here’s a “Throwback Thursday” to February 3, 2011. Russell writes Marquette Rail ran a plow extra after the 2011 blizzard that dropped over 2 feet of snow and 50+ MPH winds. Here it is seen busting through the crossing in downtown Grant.

See more in his Michigan gallery on Flickr.

Into the Icebox

Broken ice on Lake Michigan shoreline by Tom Clark

mLive shared yesterday that the coldest air of the season is blanketing Michigan right now, bringing icy temps & dangerously cold wind chills, according to the National Weather Service:

“The coldest air of the winter so far is surging into our area this evening,” according to the NWS meteorologists in the Grand Rapids office. “This is (going to) be the big story for the next 36 hours, how cold it will be. Wind chills will mostly be in the 0-degree to -10 degree range into Tuesday morning. Lows Sunday night will be (between) zero and 10 degrees, and tomorrow we have a secondary surge of even colder air coming in during the afternoon. That will limit our high temperature to the mid-teens.”

…Wind chills are expected to be especially brutal in the U.P. They could drop to 30 degrees below zero near the Wisconsin border tonight and into Monday, the NWS said.

This morning’s Michigan temperature map agrees with a toasty 18 degrees in Detroit dropping to 10 in Mt. Pleasant, 8 by the Mackinac Bridge, -9 in Marquette & all the way down to -15 in Ironwood at the western edge of the Upper Peninsula. Bundle up kids!! 

Tom took this back in February of 2018 near Mackinac City. See more in his Michigan Winter gallery on Flickr and view & purchase his work on his website.

Into the Gale

Muskegon South Pier leaning into the gale by Jerry Herrendeen

This past Sunday (Dec 11, 2021) was a very dark day in American meteorological history as tornados ravaged the middle south, killing at least 80 in Kentucky and visiting devastation on Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee in what has become since 2020 a new seasonal threat.

While the Great Lakes State was spared the worst, mLive shares that Michigan was buffeted by winds topping 60 mph with gusts as high as 72 recorded at the Saugatuck Pier. While there’s no wind reading from the South Breakwater Light, the Muskegon North Breakwater Light clocked a reading of 68 MPH. Waveheads in the audience who want to know just how big the wave in this photo can do a little visual math with the knowledge that the North Breakwater Light is 52′ tall!

Jerry’s The Moods of Lake Michigan gallery makes it clear he has no problem getting out there to get the shot & has a couple more photos from Sunday including this shot of a wave nearly topping the 48′ south pier light. 

Warm Wet Winter on tap for Michigan

Water Street During an Ice Storm by Mike McManaman

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued their 2021-2022 winter weather outlook for the US. The NOAA Winter Outlook covers December 2021 through February 2022 and notes that with the La Nina weather pattern, Michigan & the Great Lakes are expected to see warmer & wetter than average conditions. Head over to NOAA for more including weather maps.

Mike took this photo on Flint’s Water Street after an ice storm back on Christmas Eve 2014. See more in his Flint, Michigan gallery on Flickr. 

Riding out the storm on Poe Reef Lightship

Poe Reef lies just eight feet beneath Lake Huron’s surface between Bois Blanc Island and the Lower Peninsula mainland. Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light shares the story of Poe Reef Lightship LV62, launched on this day in 1893:

In 1892 two contracts totaling $55,960 were awarded to the Craig Shipbuilding Company in Toledo for the construction of four lightships. Designated as Lightships LV59, LV60, LV61 and LV62, all four vessels were built to similar specifications. Framed and planked of white oak they measured 87′ 2″ inches in length, 21′ 6″ inches in the beam, with a draft of 8 feet. In a cost-cutting effort, the vessels were un-powered, outfitted with only a small riding sail carried on a short after mast. Equipped with a cluster of three oil-burning lens lanterns hoisted on their foremasts, each was also equipped with 6″ steam whistles and hand-operated bells for fog use. Work was completed on the four vessels the following year, and after sea trials, all four were commissioned by the Board and placed into service, LV59 being assigned to Bar Point, LV60 to Eleven Foot Shoal, LV61 to Corsica Shoal and LV62 to Poe Reef.

With the words POE REEF brightly painted in white on her fire engine red hull, LV62 was towed to Poe Reef by the lighthouse tender Marigold, and anchored on station to begin her vigil on September 29, 1893. For the next seventeen years LV62 spent every shipping season faithfully guarding the shoal. With the end of each shipping season, one of the lighthouse tenders would make the rounds of all lightship stations in the Straits area, and tow them into Cheboygan harbor for winter lay-up. While in Cheboygan, necessary repairs and improvements would be made in preparation for the following season. At some time in March or April, the ice would break up sufficiently to allow the vessels to be towed back to their stations to stand guard for yet another season.

Head over to Seeing the Light for more about Poe Reef Lighthouse & the stories of all Michigan’s lighthouses compiled by a champion for their preservation who has gone too soon.

The Weather & Fall Color

Mirror Lake in Autumn by Julie Chapa

In their excellent article on The Science of Fall Color, the US Forest Service explains the role of the weather in the annual seasonal show:

The amount and brilliance of the colors that develop in any particular autumn season are related to weather conditions that occur before and during the time the chlorophyll in the leaves is dwindling. Temperature and moisture are the main influences.

A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring about the most spectacular color displays. During these days, lots of sugars are produced in the leaf but the cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going into the leaf prevent these sugars from moving out. These conditions – lots of sugar and light – spur production of the brilliant anthocyanin pigments, which tint reds, purples, and crimson. Because carotenoids are always present in leaves, the yellow and gold colors remain fairly constant from year to year.

The amount of moisture in the soil also affects autumn colors. Like the weather, soil moisture varies greatly from year to year. The countless combinations of these two highly variable factors assure that no two autumns can be exactly alike. A late spring, or a severe summer drought, can delay the onset of fall color by a few weeks. A warm period during fall will also lower the intensity of autumn colors. A warm wet spring, favorable summer weather, and warm sunny fall days with cool nights should produce the most brilliant autumn colors.

Julie took this photo at a small lake near Fife Lake back in 2014. See more in her Michigan gallery & follow Julie Chapa Photography on Facebook.

TONS more fall color on Michigan in Pictures!