WEST MICHIGAN — May 30 and 31 mark the 18th anniversary of the devastating high wind event known as a derecho that swept across several Great Lakes states. This event was huge for West Michigan and produced winds in some spots up to 130 mile per hour.
The derecho wind line and storms began on May 30, 1998 to our west over Minnesota. It maintained and even strengthened as it moved east in to the Great Lakes. This wind line would travel 975 miles in just 15 hours from Minnesota to New York toppling RV’s, trailers, trees, and other structure along the way.
Damage was reported in the hundreds of millions and this particular event was one of the most damaging derechos in history. Six people lost their lives and more than 200 were injured. The storm was especially bad for West Michigan since it arrived on the lakeshore between 4:45 A.M. and 5:00 A.M. when Memorial Day campers and vacationers were full at area parks. There was literally little/no warning as most folks were sleeping and communication in 1998 was not like it was with social media and more sophisticated warning methods today. Below is an image from the National Weather Service that shows the progression of the derecho from start to finish. It began May 30 in southeast Minnesota and eventually ended almost a thousand miles later and 15 hours the next day in New York.
The image attached to this story shows what the radar image looked like as it approached our West Michigan shoreline. Notice the “bowing out” of this derecho or line of severe thunderstorms. Typically, the strongest winds occur at the apex of the bow, but in this case they were far more widespread than that.
The National Weather Service has much more information on this event. Click here to see it. Get the complete West Michigan forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather
