Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Grand Rapids, MI
NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at May 20, 1996, 11:04 PM EDT for Clinton County, Michigan. It was in force for 26 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, 11:04 PM EDT (03:04 UTC)
- Expired
- May 20, 1996, 11:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 26 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Rapids, MI
- Area
- Whole counties
County Clinton County, MI
The radar
The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:05 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, 3.1 hours before the alert went out and 99 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KGRR 210305 TORGRR MIC037-210330- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 1104 PM EDT MON MAY 20 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1130 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN ...SOUTHEASTERN CLINTON COUNTY AT 11 PM... A WEATHER OBSERVER OBSERVED A FUNNEL CLOUD ONE MILE SOUTH OF THE AIRPORT. THIS FUNNEL WAS EXTENDING TO THE GROUHD. TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE BATH AND PARK LAKE. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO THE SAFEST SHELTER IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR A PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABvLE 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.
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, May 20, 5:06 PM EDT, 5 hours 58 minutes before
MIZ066-067-073-074-079>081-210100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 507 PM EDT MON MAY 20 1996 ...TORNADO THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM EDT FOR MOST OF SOUTH CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN... A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED... AND IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM EDT... FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN: BRANCH... CALHOUN... EATON... HILLSDALE... INGHAM... JACKSON... AND ST JOSEPH. A FEW COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE BATTLE CREEK... JACKSON... LANSING... COLDWATER... AND HILLSDALE. AT 500 PM EDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF SHOWERS... WITH IMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS... FROM LAKE MICHIGAN EAST-NORTHEAST THROUGH CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN. IN ADDITION... INDIVIDUAL THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED SOUTH OF THIS... ACROSS SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS COULD DEVELOP ACROSS THE WATCH AREA THIS EVENING... AND SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF TORNADOES. REMEMBER... A TORNADO WATCH MEANS TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. BE ON THE WATCH FOR THREATENING WEATHER AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO... COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. TRH
Special weather statement, May 20, 6:26 PM EDT, 4 hours 38 minutes before
MIZ066-067-073-074-079>081-210100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 628 PM EDT MON MAY 20 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH CANCELLED... THE TORNADO WATCH THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR BRANCH... CALHOUN... EATON... HILLSDALE... INGHAM... JACKSON... AND ST JOSEPH COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED. AT 625 PM EDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF SHOWERS... WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS... FROM LAKE MICHIGAN EAST-NORTHEAST THROUGH CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN. THE STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT WERE OVER THE WATCH AREA HAVE MOVED OUT OF LOWER MICHIGAN... THEREFORE THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED. ALTHOUGH THE WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED... ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS COULD DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA LATER THIS EVENING. STAY TUNNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES. TRH
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 8:16 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GRR | Kent | 4 hr |
| May 20, 10:23 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GRR | Ingham | 37 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.