Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Detroit, MI

July 25, 1988Genesee County, Michigan

NWS Detroit, MI issued this tornado warning at Jul 25, 1988, 8:29 PM EDT for Genesee County, Michigan. It was in force for 31 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 25, 1988, 8:29 PM EDT (00:29 UTC)
Expired
Jul 25, 1988, 9:00 PM EDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Detroit, MI
Area
Whole counties

County Genesee 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, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 40 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 00:00Z on 1988-07-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1925 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1988-07-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 15 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1925 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1020 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
36 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 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 25, 6:29 PM EDT, 2 hours before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLINT MI
621 PM EDT MON JUL 25 1988

 ...HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO EAST CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN...

HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING INTO EAST CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN AT
THIS TIME. DETROIT WEATHER RADAR INDICATES A LINE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS..SOME PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50
MILES AN HOUR..FROM EAST TAWAS TO NEAR GRAND RAPIDS MICHIGAN.
THESE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 20 MILES AN
HOUR.

AT 620 THE MIDLAND COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT RECEIVED A CALL OF AN
UNCONFIRMED FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR THE TOWN OF ST. LOUIS MICHIGAN..
SOUTHEAST OF MT. PLEASANT.

PERSONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS..ESPECIALLY IN THE COUNTIES
OF BAY..ARENAC..AND MIDLAND SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER SHOULD
THREATENING WEATHER OCCUR.

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

KEITH DICKS
WSO FLINT MI
Special weather statement, Jul 25, 6:59 PM EDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLINT MI
655 PM EDT MON JUL 25 1988

 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MIDLAND COUNTY TIL 730 PM...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT UNTIL 730 PM
EDT THIS EVENING FOR WEST CENTRAL MIDLAND COUNTY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
WERE REPORTED BY A.R.E.S. SPOTTERS NEAR THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS IN
WEST CENTRAL MIDLAND COUNTY..MOVING EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 20 MPH.
SEVERAL REPORTS OF UNCONFIRMED FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE ALSO BEEN RECEIVED.

PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER
IMMEDIATELY AS HIGH WINDS..LARGE HAIL..STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND FREQUENT
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING WILL ACCOMPANY THIS STORM. REMEMBER..SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS CAN..AND OCCASIONALLY DO SPAWN TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR
NO ADVANCED WARNING.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL RADIO AND TELEVISION
STATIONS FOR THE LATEST WEATHER UPDATES..STATEMENTS AND WARNINGS.

KEITH DICKS,
WSO FLINT MI
Special weather statement, Jul 25, 7:45 PM EDT, 44 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLINT MI
737 PM EDT MON JUL 25 1988

 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SAGINAW COUNTY TIL 815 PM...
 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MIDLAND COUNTY HAS EXPIRED...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 815 PM EDT THIS
EVENING FOR SAGINAW COUNTY. SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL REPORT
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES EAST OF THE CITY OF SAGINAW IN SAGINAW
COUNTY. LARGE HAIL IN EXCESS OF 3/4 OF AN INCH ARE BEING REPORTED
AS WELL AS STRONG GUSTY WINDS..HEAVY RAINS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING.
THE STORM IS MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 25 MILES AN HOUR.
SEVERAL FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED WITH THESE STORMS
BUT THEY ARE UNCONFIRMED AT THIS TIME.

PERSONS IN SOUTHWEST BAY COUNTY SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER
IMMEDIATELY SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH. PLEASE STAY TUNED TO
NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL TELEVISION AND RADIO STATIONS FOR FURTHER
WEATHER UPDATES..STATeEMENTS OR WARNINGS.

KEITH DICKS
WSO FLINT MI

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 25, 8:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXGenesee52 min
Jul 25, 8:26 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXLivingston, Washtenaw49 min
Jul 25, 9:09 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXLivingston, Oakland51 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.