Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

September 14, 1990Kent County, Montcalm County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at Sep 14, 1990, 10:18 AM EDT for Kent County, Montcalm County, Michigan. It was in force for 27 min. 2 reports 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
Sep 14, 1990, 10:18 AM EDT (14:18 UTC)
Expired
Sep 14, 1990, 10:45 AM EDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area
Whole counties

Counties Kent County, MI, Montcalm 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
Sep 14, 10:40 AM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Montcalm, MI
Sep 14, 10:40 AM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Kent, 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, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 164 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 12:00Z on 1990-09-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 134 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 1990-09-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 82 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
134 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-58 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
825 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
82 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGRR 141419
TORGRR
MIC081-117-141445-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
1018 AM EDT FRI SEP 14 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1045 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
          ...NORTHEASTERN KENT...SOUTHERN MONTCALM
 
AT 1009AM EDT STATE POLICE REPORTED AN UNCONFIRMED TORNADO JUST WEST
OF SAND LAKE...25 MILES NORTH OF GRAND RAPIDS MOVING TOWARD THE
SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH. DAMAGE WAS TO HOMES AND TREES. THIS TORNADO WAS
MOVING TOWARD THE COMMUNITIES OF LINCOLN LAKE...IN NORTHEAST KENT
COUNTY...GOWEN AND GREENVILLE IN MONTCALM COUNTY.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 14, 11:03 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRIsabella27 min
Sep 14, 11:09 AM EDTTornado WarningGRRIonia36 min
Sep 14, 11:51 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRAllegan, Barry, Kalamazoo, Van Buren39 min
Sep 14, 12:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRCalhoun, Eaton62 min
Sep 14, 12:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRIngham52 min
Sep 14, 12:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRJackson60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes in 1990

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.