Alert archive / Michigan / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Grand Rapids, MI
NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 18, 1996, 5:00 PM EST for Branch County, Calhoun County, Kalamazoo County, Michigan. It was in force for 50 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
- Jan 18, 1996, 5:00 PM EST (22:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 18, 1996, 5:50 PM EST
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Rapids, MI
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Branch County, MI, Calhoun County, MI, Kalamazoo County, MI
The radar
The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:59 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 18, 5:01 PM EST | Tornado F0 | Richland, MI | |
| Jan 18, 5:15 PM EST | Thunderstorm Wind 52 | Battle Creek, 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, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 159 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 733 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 164 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 259 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KGRR 182202 RRA SVRGRR MIC023-025-077-182245- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 5 PM EST THU JAN 18 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 550 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTH CENTRAL MICHIGAN ...WESTERN BRANCH COUNTY...CALHOUN COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN ...SOUTHEASTERN KALAMAZOO COUNTY AT 450 PM DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN ST JOSEPH COUNTY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH. THIS LINE WILL PUSH THROUGH SOUTHEAST KALAMAZOO...WESTERN BRANCH AND ALL OF CALHOUN COUNTY BY 6 PM. THE LINE IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE TOWN OF VICKSBURGH BY 515 PM... AND MARSHALL BY 545 PM. THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AS THEY TRACK THROUGH THE WARNING AREA. AT 445 PM A WEATHER SPOTTER NEAR THREE RIVERS MEASURED WINDS OF 74 MPH WITdH THIS SQUALL LINE. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM GET INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY. TEW
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Jan 18, 1:45 PM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
MIZ056-057-064-065-071>073-080-182045- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 145 PM EST THU JAN 18 1996 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST FOR THE SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN COUNTIES OF BRANCH... CALHOUN... KALAMAZOO... BARRY...VAN BUREN... OTTAWA... ALLEGAN... AND KENT. COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE GRAND RAPIDS... KALAMAZOO... GRAND HAVEN... BATTLE CREEK... AND HASTINGS. AT 140 PM DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A FAST MOVING LINE OF SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH THROUGH CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THE LINE STRETCHED FROM 20 MILES WEST OF JOLIET ILLINOIS SOUTH TO NEAR CHAMPAIGN ILLINOIS. WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH WERE REPORTED IN CHAMPAIGN AS THIS LINE PASSED THROUGH. THE LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL REACH THE SOUTH END OF LAKE MICHIGAN BY 3 PM AND MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN BY 330 PM. EVERYONE IN SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN SHOULD KEEP ALERT TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS. FELVER
Special weather statement, Jan 18, 1:52 PM EST, 3 hours 8 minutes before
MIZ056-057-064-065-071>073-080-182045- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 145 PM EST THU JAN 18 1996 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST FOR THE SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN COUNTIES OF BRANCH... CALHOUN... KALAMAZOO... BARRY...VAN BUREN... OTTAWA... ALLEGAN... AND KENT. COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE GRAND RAPIDS... KALAMAZOO... GRAND HAVEN... BATTLE CREEK... AND HASTINGS. AT 140 PM DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A FAST MOVING LINE OF SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH THROUGH CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THE LINE STRETCHED FROM 20 MILES WEST OF JOLIET ILLINOIS SOUTH TO NEAR CHAMPAIGN ILLINOIS. WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH WERE REPORTED IN CHAMPAIGN AS THIS LINE PASSED THROUGH. THE LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL REACH THE SOUTH END OF LAKE MICHIGAN BY 3 PM AND MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN BY 330 PM. EVERYONE IN SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN SHOULD KEEP ALERT TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS. FELVER
Special weather statement, Jan 18, 3:41 PM EST, 1 hour 19 minutes before
MIZ056-057-064-065-071>073-080-182245- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 341 PM EST THU JAN 18 1996 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST FOR THE SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN COUNTIES OF BRANCH... CALHOUN... KALAMAZOO... BARRY...VAN BUREN... OTTAWA... ALLEGAN... AND KENT. COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE GRAND RAPIDS... KALAMAZOO... ALLEGAN... MIDDLEVILLE... AND ROCKFORD. AT 337 PM DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A FAST MOVING LINE OF SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH THROUGH EASTERN ILLINOIS AND WESTERN INDIANA. THE LINE OF SHOWERS WILL MOVE THROUGH HOLLAND AROUND 430 PM AND GRAND RAPIDS BY 510 PM. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH AS THEY MOVE THROUGH. PEOPLE SHOULD SECURE LOOSE OBJECTS OUTSIDE IMMEDIATELY. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING SITUATION. FELVER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 18, 4:05 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Allegan, Van Buren | 55 min |
| Jan 18, 5:45 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Eaton | 30 min |
| Jan 18, 6:15 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Clinton | 20 min |
| Jan 18, 6:15 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRR | Ingham | 30 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Michigan, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.