Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Grand Rapids, MI
NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at Jul 25, 1988, 7:03 PM EDT for Gratiot County, Michigan. It was in force for 42 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 25, 1988, 7:03 PM EDT (23:03 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 25, 1988, 7:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 42 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Rapids, MI
- Area
- Whole counties
County Gratiot 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 7:10 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Gratiot, 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
Detroit, MI (KFNT), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 115 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
- 48 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -74 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 786 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 25 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 17 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
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, 2:35 PM EDT, 4 hours 28 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MUSKEGON MI 230 PM EDT MON JUL 25 1988 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY OVER NORTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN... AT 230 PM EDT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY OVER NORTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN FROM SOUTHEAST OF TRAVERSE CITY TO WEST OF HOUGHTON LAKE. THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO DEVELOPING IN MASON COUNTY NORTHEAST AND SOUTHEAST OF SCOTTVILLE. NO SEVERE WEATHER WAS NOTED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS...HOWEVER...SMALL HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAINS...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND STRONG WIND MAY ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE STORMS. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING VERY SLOWLY...HEAVY RAINS MAY PRODUCE SOME FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS AS THE STORMS MO VE OVERHEAD.
Special weather statement, Jul 25, 5:45 PM EDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LANSING, MI 545 PM EDT MON JUL 25 1988 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN... AT 535 PM A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO CENTRAL MICHIGAN. RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE ABOUT 10 MILES NORTHWEST AND NORTH OF MT. PLEASANT MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT AROUND 15 MILES PER HOUR. THIS WILL PUT THE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE CITY OF MT. PLEASANT WITHIN 30 MINUTES. VERY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL AND STRONG WIND GUSTS MAY ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE STORMS. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES PLEASE SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY AND STAY ALERT FOR FURTHER WEATHER UPDATES. KALLAS
Special weather statement, Jul 25, 6:40 PM EDT, 23 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LANSING, MI 629 PM EDT MON JUL 25 1988 ...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE IN CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN... AT 630 PM RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SHOWERS AND VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS LOCATED 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF ITHACA IN GRATIOT COUNTY. VERY HEAVY RAIN HAS BEEN REPORTED NORTHWEST OF ITHACA AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE TO THE EAST-SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 20 MILES PER HOUR. THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE CITY OF ITHACA BY 700 PM AND MAY CONTAIN VERY HEAVY RAIN... DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL AND STRONG WIND GUSTS. PERSONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. STAY TUNED TO YOUR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. KALLAS
Special weather statement, Jul 25, 6:45 PM EDT, 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 645 PM EDT MON JUL 25 1988 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER MONTCALM COUNTY... AT 635 PM EDT...THE MONTCALM COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT REPORTED MARBLE SIZE HAIL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING IN THE CITY OF SIX LAKES...ABOUT 40 MILES NORTHEAST OF GRAND RAPIDS. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. PERSONS IN EASTERN MONTCALM COUNTY SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR LARG E HAIL...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL AS THE STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. IF ANY SEVERE WEATHER IS SIGHTED...NOTIFY YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICE. MJK
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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.