Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Detroit, MI

August 7, 1996Shiawassee County, Michigan

NWS Detroit, MI issued this tornado warning at Aug 7, 1996, 6:32 PM EDT for Shiawassee County, Michigan. It was in force for 43 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
Aug 7, 1996, 6:32 PM EDT (22:32 UTC)
Expired
Aug 7, 1996, 7:15 PM EDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Detroit, MI
Area
Whole counties

County Shiawassee County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 62 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:35 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 7, 7:00 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 70Countywide, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 64 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 1996-08-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1535 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, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 1996-08-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 13 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
1535 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
935 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-14 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 KDTX 072234
TORDTX
MIC155-072315-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT PONTIAC MI
632 PM EDT WED AUG 7 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DETROIT PONTIAC HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN
 
   ...SHIAWASSEE COUNTY
 
AT 630 PM... SLEEPY HOLLOW STATE PARK REPORTED A TORNADO
ON THE GROUND.
 
THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING TO THE
EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR... AND WILL REACH THE COMMUNITY OF
LAINGSBURG BY 642 PM... AND VERNON BY 700 PM.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STUlRDY 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.
 
CAMPBELL

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 7, 2:18 PM EDT, 4 hours 14 minutes before
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-072100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
215 PM EDT WED AUG 7 1996

...AN HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED AN HEAT ADVISORY FOR ALL OF
SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN THIS AFTERNOON. THE HEAT ADVISORY INCLUDES THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES... MIDLAND... BAY... HURON... SAGINAW... TUSCOLA...
SANILAC... SHIAWASSEE... GENESEE... LAPEER... ST. CLAIR...
LIVINGSTON... OAKLAND... MACOMB... WASHTENAW... WAYNE... LENAWEE...
AND MONROE.

AT 210 PM... TEMPERATURES ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN WERE IN THE
LOWER TO MID 90S AND DEW POINT TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE LOWER TO MID
70S. THIS WAS CREATING HIGH RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WHICH COMBINED
WITH THE HEAT... WERE PRODUCING HEAT INDICIES IN THE 105 TO 110 DEGREE.
HEAT INDICIES WILL REMAIN IN THIS RANGE UNTL 600 PM... WHEN
TEMPERATURES WILL FALL ENOUGH THAT HEAT INDICIES WILL FALL BACK TO
AROUND 100 DEGREES.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITY SHOULD BE LIMITED... ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE MOST
SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE HEAT. STAY IN THE SHADE OR AIR CONDITIONING THIS
AFTERNOON AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER OR NON-ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES.

BOYNE
Special weather statement, Aug 7, 4:20 PM EDT, 2 hours 12 minutes before
MIZ082-075-068-060-083-076-069-070-061-062-053-054-063-055-049-
048-047-072215-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT PONTIAC MI
416 PM EDT WED AUG 7 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 993 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM FOR ALL
OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN...

AT 415 PM... SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 993 HAS BEEN ISSUED UNTIL
10 PM FOR ALL COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN.  THIS INCLUDES THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES... BAY... MIDLAND... HURON... TUSCOLA...
SANILAC... SAGINAW... SHIAWASSEE... GENESEE... LAPEER...
ST. CLAIR... LIVINGSTON... OAKLAND... MACOMB... WASHTENAW...
WAYNE... LENAWEE... AND MONROE.  THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITES ARE
INCLUDED IN THE WATCH... SAGINAW... FLINT... PORT HURON...
BAD AXE... DETROIT... ADRIAN... AND PONTIAC.

AT 415 PM... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED DEVELOPING
THUNDERSTORMS NORTHEAST OF GRAND RAPIDS.  THESE STORMS WERE MOVING
TO THE EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR... AND WILL MOVE INTO SAGINAW AND
MIDLAND COUNTIES BY 5 PM.

A WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE HAIL
OF 3/4 OF AN INCH OR GREATER AND PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS
OF 60 MILES AN HOUR.

IF Y|OU ARE IN THE WATCH AREA... BE READY TO MOVE TO SAFE SHELTER
IF THREATENING WEATHER IS OBSERVED... OR A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR
YOUR AREA.

CAMPBELL
Local storm report, Aug 7, 6:11 PM EDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MICHIGAN
610 PM EDT WED AUG 07 1996

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION...".

0601 PM    MONTROSE                  MI   65 MPH TSTM GUST
08/07/96   GENESEE
Local storm report, Aug 7, 6:28 PM EDT, 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MICHIGAN
626 PM EDT WED AUG 07 1996

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0530 PM    HOPE                      MI   WIND DAMAGE
08/07/96   MIDLAND                        6 MILES E OF HOPE SEVERAL
                                          TREES BLOWN DOWN

0534 PM    PINCONNING                MI   WIND DAMAGE
08/07/96   BAY                            POWER LINES BLOWN DOWN IN
                                          THE PINCONNING AREA

0540 PM    BRANT                     MI   WIND DAMAGE
08/07/96   SAGINAW                        SEVERAL TREES BLOWN DOWN 4
                                          MILES WEST OF BRANT

0601 PM    MONTROSE                  MI   65 MPH TSTM GUST
08/07/96   GENESEE                        SPOTTERS REPORTED NEAR THE
                                          TOWN OF MONTROXSE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 7, 5:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXSaginaw55 min
Aug 7, 5:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXBay, Midland50 min
Aug 7, 5:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXShiawassee59 min
Aug 7, 6:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXSaginaw30 min
Aug 7, 6:01 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXGenesee59 min
Aug 7, 6:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXHuron60 min
Aug 7, 6:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXLivingston, Oakland67 min
Aug 7, 7:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXLapeer, Sanilac55 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.