Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

May 20, 1996Ingham County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at May 20, 1996, 10:23 PM EDT for Ingham County, Michigan. It was in force for 37 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 20, 1996, 10:23 PM EDT (02:23 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 1996, 11:00 PM EDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area
Whole counties

County Ingham County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:22 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 78 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 1996-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 18 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 00:00Z on 1996-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 333 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
18 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-168 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
873 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
333 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
370 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGRR 210223
TORGRR
MIC065-210300-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
1023 PM EDT MON MAY 20 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN
 
   ...SOUTHEASTERN INGHAM COUNTY
 
AT 1020 PM EDT... SKYWARN SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO JUST SOUTH OF
LESLIE ALONG THE INGHAM COUNTY JACKSON COUNTY LINE. COMMUNITIES IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE FITCHBURG AND STOCKBRIDGE.
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT... DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
 
DCZ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 8:16 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGRRKent4 hr
May 20, 11:04 PM EDTTornado WarningGRRClinton26 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.