Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Gaylord, MI

August 16, 1988Antrim County, Michigan

NWS Gaylord, MI issued this tornado warning at Aug 16, 1988, 12:07 PM EDT for Antrim County, Michigan. It was in force for 68 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 16, 1988, 12:07 PM EDT (16:07 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 1988, 1:15 PM EDT
In force
68 min
Issued by
NWS Gaylord, MI
Area
Whole counties

County Antrim 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

Sault Ste Marie, MI (KSSM), launched 12:00Z, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 176 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 1988-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 125 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 1988-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 208 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
125 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-246 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
840 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
208 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
273 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KMKG 161607
TORMKG
MIC009-161715-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MUSKEGON MI
1207 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1988

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 115 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF LOWER MICHIGAN
      ANTRIM

AT 1153AM EDT STATE POLICE IN ANTRIM COUNTY REPORTED A FUNNEL
CLOUD 7 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF BELAIRE MOVING SOUTHEAST.
RESIDENTS IN THE MANCELONA AREA SHOULD BE ON ALERT.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER IF
AVAILABLE...OTHERWISE GO TO A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.

 THIS STORM IS MOVING RAPIDLY SOUTHEAST AND RESIDENTS IN ANTRIM
 COUNTY SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR FURTHER BULLETINS.

 HYNES

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, Aug 16, 7:17 AM EDT, 4 hours 50 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUGHTON LAKE MI
715 AM EDT TUE AUG 16 1988

AT 715 AM EDT...AN AREA OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING
TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST OVER NORTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. THE LEADING
EDGE OF THESE STORMS WAS APPROACHING THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF OTSEGO
COUNTY...40 MILES NORTH OF HOUGHTON LAKE AND ABOUT 10 MILES WEST OF
GAYLORD.

VERY HEAVY RAINS...STRONG GUSTING WIND...SMALL HAIL AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS AS THEY MOVE SOUTHEAST
OVER OTSEGO AND CRAWFORD COUNTIES.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE
SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 11:33 AM EDT, 34 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUGHTON LAKE MI
1130 AM EDT TUE AUG 16 1988

AT 1130 AM EDT...A CLUSTER OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IS OVER
LITTLE TRAVERSE BAY IN EMMET COUNTY ABOUT 50 TO 60 MILES NORTH
NORTHEAST OF TRAVERSE CITY.

THESE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTH SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 50 MILES AN HOUR
AND WILL BE MOVING INTO THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF OTSEGO COUNTY BY
1145 AM EDT.

PEOPLE IN OTSEGO COUNTY SHOULD WATCH FOR POSSIBLE DApMAGING WINDS...
LARGE HAIL AND DEADLY LIGHTNING.

LLH
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 11:36 AM EDT, 31 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALPENA MI
1130 AM EDT TUE AUG 16 1988

...THUNDERSTORMS IN MONTMORENCY COUNTY...

AT 1125 AM EDT THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE OVER MONTMORENCY
COUNTY. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL
MOVE INTO ALCONA COUNTY AROUND NOON. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING
VERY HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG
GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL. IF SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES...TAKE SHELTER AT
ONCE. REPORT ANY DAMAGE OR INJURIES TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE THREAT HAS PASSED. MONITOR YOUR LOCAL RADIO
STATION OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
GOEBELs
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 12:04 PM EDT, 3 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALPENA MI
1200 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1988

...THUNDERSTORMS IN WESTERN ALCONA COUNTY...

AT 1155 AM EDT THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE OVER WESTERN
ALCONA COUNTY. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 45 MPH AND
WILL MOVE INTO NORTHERN IOSCO COUNTY AROUND 1230 PM. THESE STORMS WILL
PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY STRONG
WINDS AND HAIL. IF SEVERE WEATHER APPROACHES...TAKE SHELTER AT ONCE.
REPORT ANY DAMAGE OR INJURIES TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE THREAT HAS PASSED. MONITOR LOCAL RADIO STATIONS
OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
GOEBEL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 12:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXLuce65 min
Aug 16, 8:10 AM EDTTornado WarningAPXGrand Traverse, Leelanau65 min
Aug 16, 8:31 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXKalkaska59 min
Aug 16, 9:01 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningAPXGrand Traverse, Leelanau59 min
Aug 16, 9:01 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningAPXKalkaska59 min
Aug 16, 9:09 AM EDTTornado WarningAPXWexford66 min
Aug 16, 9:40 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXChippewa, Luce, Mackinac80 min
Aug 16, 11:00 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXCheboygan, Emmet60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988

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.