Alert archive / Michigan / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 34, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

September 26, 1986Allegan County, Van Buren County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 26, 1986, 4:30 PM EDT for Allegan County, Van Buren County, Michigan. It was in force for 30 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 26, 1986, 4:30 PM EDT (20:30 UTC)
Expired
Sep 26, 1986, 5:00 PM EDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area
Whole counties

Counties Allegan County, MI, Van Buren County, MI

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KFNT), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 222 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 1986-09-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2111 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 1986-09-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
2111 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
620 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
80 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
3.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 26, 10:53 AM EDT, 5 hours 37 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Sep 26, 11:12 AM EDT, 5 hours 18 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Sep 26, 12:21 PM EDT, 4 hours 9 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LANSING, MI
1214 PM EDT FRI SEP 26 1986

   ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN...
        ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 5 PM EDT...

AT 1210 PM EDT A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING OVER SOUTHERN
ISABELLA COUNTY.  HEAVY RAIN IS LIKELY ACROSS SOUTHERN ISABELLA
COUNTY...MOSTLY SOUTH OF MOUNT PLEASANT...BETWEEN NOON AND 1 PM EDT.

A LARGE AREA OF RAIN WITH A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED ACROSS
CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN.  LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE ACROSS THIS
AREA THROUGHOUT THIS AFTERNOON.
FORTUNE
Special weather statement, Sep 26, 2:15 PM EDT, 2 hours 15 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
210 PM EDT FRI SEP 26 1986

...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING TOWARD SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN...

AT 2 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING OUT OF THE CHIGAGO..MILWAUKEE AREAS ONTO LAKE MICHIGAN.
IN THE CHICAGO AREA THE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED VERY HEAVY RAIN..
REDUCING THE VISIBILITY TO NEAR ZERO..SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO
ABOUT 45 MPH.  THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST ABOUT 30 MPH
AND SHOULD REACH THE BENTON HARBOR..SOUTH HAVEN..GRAND HAVEN AREAS
BY 3 TO 4 PM.

BOATERS ON LAKE MICHIGAN SHOULD CONSIDER HEADING FOR A SAFE PORT.
PERSONS ON SHORE SHOULD BRACE FOR ANOTHER ONSLAUGHT OF HEAVY RAINv
AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.  SOME LOCAL FLOODING IS LIKELY AS THE
THUNDERSTORMS MOVE ACROSS SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL GENERATE FREQUENT LIGHTNING.  LIGHTNING IS
DEADLY..OBSERVE THE LIGHTNING SAFETY RULES.
COOLEY
Special weather statement, Sep 26, 3:44 PM EDT, 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
330 PM EDT FRI SEP 26 1986

...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ONSHORE IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN...

AT 330 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING ONSHORE FROM SOUTH BEND TO HOLLAND AND INLAND TO SPARTA.
THE THUNDERSTORMS RANGE FROM HEAVY TO VERY HEAVY INTENSITY.
SCATTERED RAINFALL AMOUNTS WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD RANGE UP
TO AN INCH OR TWO. HEAVY RAIN COULD REDUCE VISIBILITY TO NEAR ZERO
IN SOME AREAS.  HEAVY RAIN COULD ALSO PRODUCE TEMPORARY FLOODING
OF LOW SPOTS INCLUDING LOW ROADS AND INTERSECTIONS. ALLOW EXTRA TIME
TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION AND DRIVE SAFELY.

LIGHTNING WILL ACCOMPANY THESE THUNDERSTORMS.  LIGHTNING IS DEADLY..
OBSERVE THE LIGHTNING SAFETY RULES.
COOLEY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 26, 5:20 PM EDTTornado WarningGRRKalamazoo31 min
Sep 26, 5:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRCalhoun, Hillsdale52 min
Sep 26, 6:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRJackson19 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Michigan, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.