Severe thunderstorm warning issued for Grand Traverse County, winds up to 60 mph

Grand Traverse County was under the edge of a fast-moving severe weather threat Sunday evening, with a warning in effect until 8 p.m. for winds up to 60 mph and penny-sized hail. Forecasters said the most dangerous stretch generally fell between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., leaving only a narrow window before the storm line and its strongest gusts passed through.

At 7:20 p.m. Sunday, a new severe thunderstorm warning covered portions of Manistee, Wexford, Grand Traverse and Benzie counties through 8 p.m., following an earlier warning for Benzie and Manistee counties that had been set to expire at 7:15 p.m. The first round of storms was tied to a warm front moving north from the south, and additional rounds of severe weather were possible on and off through Tuesday.

The National Weather Service in Gaylord warned that multiple rounds of showers and storms could develop across northern Michigan over the next few days. Its hazardous weather outlook called for the main threats to include damaging wind gusts to 60 mph, hail up to one inch in diameter and isolated tornadoes. The APX weather office also said some areas could pick up 1 to 2 inches of rain, raising the chance of localized flooding in low-lying or poor-drainage spots.

For Grand Traverse County, the forecast called for mostly cloudy skies Sunday, with a chance of light showers and thunderstorms early and rain showers likely after midnight. That meant conditions could deteriorate quickly around Traverse City and surrounding communities even after the first warning expired, especially as heavier rain bands moved through overnight.

County officials had already shown they were treating storm threats seriously. In March 2026, Grand Traverse County said its Emergency Operations Center was set up ahead of a forecasted storm, and officials said the county’s last Declaration of Emergency before that had been during the March 2-3, 2012 winter storm. Sunday’s warning underscored why that kind of readiness matters: the same system that brought hail and damaging wind threatened power lines, trees and roads before the evening ended.