Alert archive / Michigan / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 39, NWS Detroit, MI

July 12, 1987Gladwin County, Michigan

NWS Detroit, MI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 12, 1987, 5:07 PM EDT for Gladwin County, Michigan. It was in force for 58 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 12, 1987, 5:07 PM EDT (21:07 UTC)
Expired
Jul 12, 1987, 6:05 PM EDT
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS Detroit, MI
Area
Whole counties

County Gladwin County, MI

The radar

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

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 12, 5:25 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Gladwin, MI

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Sault Ste Marie, MI (KSSM), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 276 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, Sault Ste Marie, MI at 12:00Z on 1987-07-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 44 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, Sault Ste Marie, MI at 12:00Z on 1987-07-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 23 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
44 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-493 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1000 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
65 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

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, Jul 12, 1:26 PM EDT, 3 hours 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE ANN ARBOR MI
125 PM EDT SUN JUL 12 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 372 IN EFFECT FOR EAST UPPER AND
   MOST OF WEST LOWER TIL 800 PM EDT...

A DEVELOPING LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS OVER EASTERN WISCONSIN. THIS LINE
REACHES FROM NEAR GREEN BAY SOUTHWARD TO NEAR CHICAGO. THIS LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 35 MILES AND HOUR AND SHOULD
BE REACHING THE MICHIGAN SHORELINE BETWEEN 315 PM EDT AND 345 PM EDT.

PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD KEEP A WEATHER EYE TO THE SKY AND
BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR TO YOUR LOCAL COMMERCIAL RADIO ANDr
TELEVISION STATIONS FOR FURTHER WEATHER UPDATES.

KEYES
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 2:27 PM EDT, 2 hours 40 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE ANN ARBOR MI
225 PM EDT SUN JUL 12 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 372 IN EFFECT FOR EAST UPPER AND
   MOST OF WEST LOWER MICHIGAN UNTIL 800 PM EDT...

AT 220 PM EDT WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A NORTH TO SOUTH LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS OVER MOST OF THE LENGTH OF LAKE MICHIGAN. SEVERAL OF
THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE PRODUCED SEVERE WEATHER. THE STORMS WERE
MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH AND SHOULD REACH THE MICHIGAN SHORELINE BY
345 PM.

OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING IN EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN.

PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD KEEP A WEATHER EYE TO THE SKY AND
BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR TO YOUR LOCAL COMMERCIAL RADIO
AND TELEVISION STATIONS FOR FURTHER WEATHER UPDATES.

DWD
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 3:04 PM EDT, 2 hours 3 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE ANN ARBOR MI
305 PM EDT SUN JUL 12 1987

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 374 IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM EDT FOR ALL OF
LOWER MICHIGAN AND FOR EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN...

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 374 REPLACES SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER
372. THAT IS...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 372 IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

AT 255 PM EDT WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A NORTH TO SOUTH LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS OVER MOST OF THE LENGTH OF LAKE MICHIGAN. SEVERAL OF
THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE PRODUCED SEVERE WEATHER. THE STORMS WERE
MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH AND WERE BEGINNING TO REACH THE MICHIGAN
SHORELINE.

OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING IN EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN.

PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD KEEP A WEATHER EYE TO THE SKY AND
BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR TO YOUR COMMERCIAL RADIO
AND TELEVISION STATIONS...FOR FURTHER WEATHER UPDATES.

DWD
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 4:18 PM EDT, 49 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE ANN ARBOR MI
415 PM EDT SUN JUL 12 1987

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 374 IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM EDT FOR ALL OF
LOWER MICHIGAN AND FOR EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN...

AT 405 PM EDT WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN...NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN...AND
NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN AND ADJACENT LAKE HURON. THUNDERSTORMS WERE
ALSO DEVELOPING OVER SOUTHWESTERN LOWER MICHIGAN. THUNDERSTORMS WERE
MOVING NORTHEAST AROUND 30 MPH.

REMEMBER...ALL OF LOWER MICHIGAN AND EASTERN UPPER MICHIGAN ARE UNDER
A TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 1100 PM THIS EVENING. THIS MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
RIGHT SUCH THAT SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE TORNADOES...DAMAGING
WINDS IN GENERAL...AND LARGE HAIL.

PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD KEEP A WEATHER EYE TO THE SKY AND
BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROAC

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO..O.OR TO YOUR COMMERCIAL RADIO
AND TELEVISION STATIONS...FOR FURTHER WEATHER UPDATES.

DWD
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 4:21 PM EDT, 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLINT MI
415 PM EDT SUN JUL 12 1987

           ...TORNADO WATCH ON EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM EDT...

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF LOWER MICHIGAN UNTIL
1100 PM EDT TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS..TORNADOES..LARGE HAIL..
DAMAGING WINDS..AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING CAN BE EXPECTED AS STORMS PASS
OVERHEAD. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALLS MAY CAUSE SOME FLOODING OF LOW LYING
AREAS AND UNDERPASSES..ESPECIALLY IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND PLACES
PRONE TO FLOODING.

AT 410 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING LINE OF HEAVY
THUNDERSTORMS FROM NORTH OF GRAND RAPIDS TO NEAR ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTH
OF HOUGHTON LAKE WITH MOVEMENT GENERALLY NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 30 MILES
AN HOUR. ANOTHER AREA OF NEWLY DEVELOPED THUNDERSTORMS IS JUST
BEGINNING TO MOVE INTO EXTREME SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN AT THIS TIME.

PERSONS SHOULD MONITOR THIS SITUATION CLOSELY AS THIS IS A POTENTIALLY
DANGEROUS WEATHER SYSTEM. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES COULD
SPAWN WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCED WARNING SO..IF YOU SEE THREATENING
WEATHER APPROACH..TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO..OR LOCAL TELEVISION AND COMMERCIAL
RADIO STATIONS FOR UQPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS ON THIS WEATHER
SITUATION.

DICKS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 12, 4:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXRoscommon60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Michigan, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

Sources

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