Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 6, NWS Detroit, MI
NWS Detroit, MI issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 1987, 8:48 PM EDT for Livingston County, Oakland County, Michigan. It was in force for 57 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 20, 1987, 8:48 PM EDT (00:48 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 20, 1987, 9:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 57 min
- Issued by
- NWS Detroit, MI
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Livingston County, MI, Oakland 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 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 20 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2699 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1702 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 9 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 10 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 13 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KDTW 210048 TORDTW MIC093-125-210145- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT MI 848 PM EDT MON JUL 20 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 945 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN...LIVINGSTON AND OAKLAND AT 8:35 PM SKYWARN SPOTTERS AND FIRE DEPARTMENT IN LIVINGSTON REPORTED A POSSILBE FUNNEL CLOUD OVER HARTLAND HIGH SCHOOL AT M59 AND US23. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. AT 8:34 CIVIL DEFENSE IN OAKLAND COUNTY REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD OVER BRANTON TOWNSHIP. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER IF AVAILABLE...OTHERWISE TO A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING. IF YOU ARE IN AN AREA THREATENED BY THE STORM..GO TO A REINFORCED SHELTER AND PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND LIGHTNING. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 20, 3:30 PM EDT, 5 hours 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLINT MI
330 PM EDT MON JULY 20 1987
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 10PM EDT...
AT 320 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING
WEST AND SOUTH OF SAGINAW BAY... AND ABOUT 10 MILES EAST OF FLINT.
NO SEVERE ACTIVITY HAS BEEN REPORTED BUT SOME SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
COULD DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON.
MOVEMENT OF THE DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED.
PERSONS IN THE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN ALERT
TO THE POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS... WITH LARGE
HAIL... STRONG GUSTY WINDS... AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.
MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH"ES
STJSpecial weather statement, Jul 20, 4:30 PM EDT, 4 hours 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLINT MI
430 PM EDT MON JULY 20 1987
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 10PM EDT...
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT THIS
EVENING FOR ALL OF EAST CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN.
WEATHER RADAR INDICATES SOME WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWER AND THUNDERSHOWER
ACTIVITY IN THE THUMB AREA OF EAST CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN..EAST AND
NORTHEAST OF FLINT. MOVEMENT IS SLOWLY TO THE EAST NORTHEAST.
A WEAK STATIONARY FRONT AND APPROACHING TROUGH WILL COUPLE WITH HIGH
TEMPERATURES AND AN ABUNDANCE OF MOIST AIR TO CREATE THE POTENTIAL FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS IN EAST CENTRAL
LOWER MICHIGAN..AS WELL AS MOST OF THE REMAINDER OF THE LOWER
PENINSULA. THESE STORMS..WHEN SEVERE..CREATE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MILES AN HOUR..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..LARGE
HAIL..AND OFTEN SPAWN TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.
NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED AS OF YET..HOWEVER THERE EXISTS
THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA FOR THE
NEXT FEW HOURS. PERSONS IN THE WATCH AREA ARE URGED TO MONITOR WEATHER
CONDITIONS CLOSELY BY LISTENING TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO..OR LOCAL
TELEVISION AND COMMERCIAL RADIO STATIONS FOR FURTHER UPDATES AND
POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
KEITH DICKS
WSO FLINT MISpecial weather statement, Jul 20, 5:41 PM EDT, 3 hours 7 minutes before
-ARBSPSDTW SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT MI 530 PM EDT MON JULY 20 1987 AT 530 PM EDT...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...WERE OVER SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. THE STORMS WERE OCCURRING AROUND THE DETROIT METROPOLITAN AREA AND ITS SURROUNDING SUBURBS. REPORTS OF MARBLE SIZE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS ACCOMPANIED SOME OF THE STORMS OVER INKSTER MICHIGAN. THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. BAILEY
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 6:05 PM EDT, 2 hours 43 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLINT MI
605 PM EDT MON JULY 20 1987
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 10PM EDT...
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EDT THIS
EVENING FOR ALL OF EAST CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN.
AT 520 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEATHER RADAT SHOWED STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN. THE LINE
EXTENDED FROM 40 MILES NORTH OF HAUGHTON LAKE SOUTHWEST ACROSS LAKE
MICHIGAN.
HOUGHTON LAKE WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN CRAWFORD
COUNTY... MOVING INTO ROSCOMMON COUNTY. THESE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
HAVE PRODUCED A TORNADO WHEN THEY MOVED THROUGH GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY.
OTHER... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS... WITH HEAVY RAIN... WERE INDICATED
OVER SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN AT 530 PM. THESE STORMS PRODUCED MARBLE
SIZE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS IN DETROIT SUBURBS.
PEOPLE IN EAST CENTRAL MICHIGAN ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN ALERT TO THE
POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNO0ON AND EVENING...
PARTICULARLY PEOPLE IN ARENAC... MIDLAND... AND BAY COUNTIES
CAN EXPECT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NEXT HOUR OR SO AS SEVERE WEATHER
MOVES FROM CLARE AND ISABELLA COUNTIES EASTWARD.
LARGE HAIL... VERY HEAVY RAIN... DAMAGING WIND AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING
CAN BE EXPECTED. TAKE COVER SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER THREATENS.
STJThe office that day
Everything else NWS Detroit, MI issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 8:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Lapeer | 66 min |
| Jul 20, 9:11 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | DTX | Macomb | 64 min |
| Jul 20, 9:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Wayne | 53 min |
| Jul 20, 9:38 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Washtenaw | 67 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.