Alert archive / Michigan / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 10, NWS Detroit, MI

July 2, 1997Macomb County, Wayne County, Michigan

NWS Detroit, MI issued this flash flood warning at Jul 2, 1997, 7:30 PM EDT for Macomb County, Wayne County, Michigan. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 2, 1997, 7:30 PM EDT (23:30 UTC)
Expired
Jul 2, 1997, 10:30 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Detroit, MI
Area
Whole counties

Counties Macomb County, MI, Wayne County, MI

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 39 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 1997-07-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 103 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 1997-07-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 119 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
103 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-131 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1006 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
119 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
140 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDTX 022339
FFWDTX
MIC163-099-030230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
730 PM EDT WED JUL 2 1997

...A FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN WAYNE AND
   SOUTHERN MACOMB COUNTY UNTIL 1030 PM...

AT 720 PM...DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A BROAD BAND OF 2 TO 3 INCHES
OF RAIN OVER NORTHERN WAYNE AND MACOMB COUNTY. THE BAND EXTENDS
FROM PLYMOUTH TO HAMTRAMCK AND NORTH TO AROUND UTICA. FLOODING HAS
BEEN REPORTED THOUGHOUT THIS AREA.  SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE STILL
DEVELOPING AROUND THE AREA AND ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL AGGRAVATE
THE EXISTING FLOODING SITUATION.  SMALL STREAMS...CREEKS AND DRAINAGE
DITCHES WILL CONTINUE TO FLOOD OR RUN HIGH THIS EVENING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED
IMMEDIATELY AND PERSONS SHOULD SEEK HIGHER GROUNDS.

COSTELLO

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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, Jul 2, 1:30 PM EDT, 6 hours before
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-021900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
130 PM EDT WED JUL 02 1997

...TORNADO WATCH 553 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM...

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 553 IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
UNTIL 800 PM.

THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

BAY          MIDLAND          SAGINAW          TUSCOLA
HURON        SANILAC          LAPEER           GENESSEE
SHIAWASSEE   ST CLAIR         MACOMB           OAKLAND
LIVINGSTON   WASTENAW         WAYNE            LENAWEE
MONROE

AT 130 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN FROM CADILLAC TO
JUST NORTH OF GRAND RAPIDS. THIS LINE IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE BUILDING
SOUTH DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH THE INDIVIDUAL STORMS MOVING EAST AT
35 MPH. THIS ACTIVITY WILL LIKELY REACH MIDLAND COUNTY BY 300 PM AND
THEN POINTS SOUTH AND EAST INTO THE REST OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN LATER IN
THE AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING.

A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS LIKELY IN
THE WATCH AREA WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF TORNADOES. PERSONS IN THE WATCH
AREA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE
PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IF THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO AND TELEVISION...OR
CABLE TELEVISION OUTLETS FOR LATER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE SEVERE WEATHER
WARNINGS.

BT
Special weather statement, Jul 2, 1:33 PM EDT, 5 hours 57 minutes before
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-021900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
130 PM EDT WED JUL 02 1997

...TORNADO WATCH 553 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM...

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 553 IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
UNTIL 800 PM.

THIS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

BAY          MIDLAND          SAGINAW          TUSCOLA
HURON        SANILAC          LAPEER           GENESSEE
SHIAWASSEE   ST CLAIR         MACOMB           OAKLAND
LIVINGSTON   WASTENAW         WAYNE            LENAWEE
MONROE

AT 130 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN FROM CADILLAC TO
JUST NORTH OF GRAND RAPIDS. THIS LINE IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE BUILDING
SOUTH DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH THE INDIVIDUAL STORMS MOVING EAST AT
35 MPH. THIS ACTIVITY WILL LIKELY REACH MIDLAND COUNTY BY 300 PM AND
THEN POINTS SOUTH AND EAST INTO THE REST OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN LATER IN
THE AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING.

A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS LIKELY IN
THE WATCH AREA WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF TORNADOES. PERSONS IN THE WATCH
AREA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE
PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IF THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL RADIO AND TELEVISION...OR
CABLE TELEVISION OUTLETS FOR LATER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE SEVERE WEATHER
WARNINGS.

BT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 2, 3:05 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXSaginaw40 min
Jul 2, 3:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXBay44 min
Jul 2, 3:46 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXSaginaw29 min
Jul 2, 4:01 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXGenesee, Shiawassee44 min
Jul 2, 4:15 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXSaginaw30 min
Jul 2, 4:39 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXTuscola51 min
Jul 2, 4:46 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXGenesee29 min
Jul 2, 4:55 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXLivingston35 min
Jul 2, 5:01 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXLapeer44 min
Jul 2, 5:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXOakland54 min
Jul 2, 5:35 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXLivingston, Washtenaw35 min
Jul 2, 5:40 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXOakland30 min
Jul 2, 5:48 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXWayne42 min
Jul 2, 6:20 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXMacomb, Saint Clair25 min
Jul 2, 6:29 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXWayne31 min
Jul 2, 7:01 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXWayne29 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Michigan, 1997Every flash flood warning in 1997

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.