Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Detroit, MI
NWS Detroit, MI issued this tornado warning at Jun 21, 1997, 4:47 PM EDT for Genesee 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
- Jun 21, 1997, 4:47 PM EDT (20:47 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 21, 1997, 5:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 43 min
- Issued by
- NWS Detroit, MI
- Area
- Whole counties
County Genesee County, MI
The radar
The Detroit radar (KDTX), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:50 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 5:12 PM EDT | Tornado F0 | Clio, 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 4:00 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 40 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
- 801 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 4 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 11 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
177
WFUS01 KDTX 212047 RRA
TORDTX
MIC049-212130-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
447 PM EDT SAT JUN 21 1997
* TORNADO WARNING FOR
GENESEE COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN LOWER MICHIGAN
* UNTIL 530 PM EDT
* SOME AREAS AFFECTED
CLIO BY 457 PM EDT
OTISVILLE BY 515 PM EDT
* AT 445 PM EDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY
DETROIT/PONTIAC DOPPLER RADAR 17 MILES NORTHWEST OF FLINT OR
2 MILES NORTHWEST OF MONTROSE MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IN A HOME OR
BUSINESS IS AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. 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, Jun 21, 12:05 PM EDT, 4 hours 42 minutes before
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-221200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 1205 PM EDT SAT JUN 21 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL STATEMENT FOR SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN... DISPATCHERS...PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR EMERGENCY MANAGERS IMMEDIATELY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL THEN BE SCATTERED ACROSS THE REGION INTO THE EVENING. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY REACH SEVERE THRESHOLDS...WITH WIND GUSTS OF 60 MPH AND HAIL WITH DIAMETER OF 3/4 OF AN INCH OR GREATER. WITH WARM HUMID AIR IN PLACE...LIMITED SUNSHINE WILL HELP TO DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE THIS AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP...MAINLY AFTER 3 PM...AN WILL THEN BE SCATTERED ACROSS THE REGION. THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL THEN GRADUALLY WIND DOWN AFTER SUNSET...FIRST OVER THE THUMB AND TRI-CITIES AREAS BY THIS EVENING... AND THEN PROGRESSIVELY FURTHER SOUTH ACROSS THE REGION EARLY TONIGHT. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL CONTAIN HEAVY DOWNPOURS OF RAIN AND WIND GUSTS OVER 30 MPH. THE POTENTIAL DOES EXIST FOR ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...WITH WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH...AND HAIL 3/4 INCH OR GREATER IN DIAMETER. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL TEND TO MOVE TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. STAY TUNED FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION CONCERNING THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL IN SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. REILLY
Special weather statement, Jun 21, 12:06 PM EDT, 4 hours 41 minutes before
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-221200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 1205 PM EDT SAT JUN 21 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL STATEMENT FOR SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN... DISPATCHERS...PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR EMERGENCY MANAGERS IMMEDIATELY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND WILL THEN BE SCATTERED ACROSS THE REGION INTO THE EVENING. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY REACH SEVERE THRESHOLDS...WITH WIND GUSTS OF 60 MPH AND HAIL WITH DIAMETER OF 3/4 OF AN INCH OR GREATER. WITH WARM HUMID AIR IN PLACE...LIMITED SUNSHINE WILL HELP TO DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE THIS AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP...MAINLY AFTER 3 PM...AN WILL THEN BE SCATTERED ACROSS THE REGION. THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL THEN GRADUALLY WIND DOWN AFTER SUNSET...FIRST OVER THE THUMB AND TRI-CITIES AREAS BY THIS EVENING... AND THEN PROGRESSIVELY FURTHER SOUTH ACROSS THE REGION EARLY TONIGHT. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL CONTAIN HEAVY DOWNPOURS OF RAIN AND WIND GUSTS OVER 30 MPH. THE POTENTIAL DOES EXIST FOR ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...WITH WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH...AND HAIL 3/4 INCH OR GREATElR IN DIAMETER. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL TEND TO MOVE TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. STAY TUNED FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION CONCERNING THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL IN SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. REILLY
Special weather statement, Jun 21, 4:18 PM EDT, 29 minutes before
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-220100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 420 PM EDT SAT JUN 21 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 498 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN UNTIL 9 PM... TORNADO WATCH 498 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN UNTIL 9 PM. COMMUNITIES IN THE WATCH INCLUDE MIDLAND... BAD AXE... SAGINAW... FLINT... PORT HURON... HOWELL... PONTIAC... MT CLEMENS... ANN ARBOR... DETROIT... AND MONROE. AT 4 PM... A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM SAGINAW BAY SOUTHWEST TO JUST WEST OF KALAMAZOO. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE TORNADOES... LARGE HAIL... AND WIND GUSTS OVER 60 MILES AN HOUR. IF YOU ARE IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... BE ALERT FOR SEVERE WEATHER. IF YOU SEE THEATENING WEATHER APPROACH... MOVE QUICKLY TO SHELTER. KEYES
Special weather statement, Jun 21, 4:20 PM EDT, 27 minutes before
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-220100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI 420 PM EDT SAT JUN 21 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 498 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN UNTIL 9 PM... TORNADO WATCH 498 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN UNTIL 9 PM. COMMUNITIES IN THE WATCH INCLUDE MIDLAND... BAD AXE... SAGINAW... FLINT... PORT HURON... HOWELL... PONTIAC... MT CLEMENS... ANN ARBOR... DETROIT... AND MONROE. AT 4 PM... A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM SAGINAW BAY SOUTHWEST TO JUST WEST OF KALAMAZOO. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE TORNADOES... LARGE HAIL... AND WIND GUSTS OVER 60 MILES AN HOUR. IF YOU ARE IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... BE ALERT FOR SEVERE WEATHER. IF YOU SEE THEATENING WEATHER APPROACH... MOVE QUICKLY TO SHELTER. KEYES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Detroit, MI issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 10:59 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Lenawee | 46 min |
| Jun 21, 4:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Shiawassee | 59 min |
| Jun 21, 5:31 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | DTX | Lapeer | 44 min |
| Jun 21, 5:48 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | DTX | Genesee | 27 min |
| Jun 21, 6:04 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | DTX | Genesee, Lapeer | 2 hr |
| Jun 21, 6:18 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Saint Clair, Sanilac | 57 min |
| Jun 21, 6:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Oakland | 35 min |
| Jun 21, 6:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Macomb | 65 min |
| Jun 21, 7:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Saint Clair | 45 min |
| Jun 21, 7:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Wayne | 31 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.