Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Detroit, MI

August 16, 1997Washtenaw County, Michigan

NWS Detroit, MI issued this tornado warning at Aug 16, 1997, 7:49 AM EDT for Washtenaw County, Michigan. It was in force for 61 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
Aug 16, 1997, 7:49 AM EDT (11:49 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 1997, 8:50 AM EDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Detroit, MI
Area
Whole counties

County Washtenaw County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:50 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 00:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 62 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 1997-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1189 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 1997-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 111 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1189 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
752 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
111 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
149 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
3.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDTX 161150 RRA
TORDTX
MIC161-161250-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
749 AM EDT SAT AUG 16 1997

*   TORNADO WARNING FOR
    WASHTENAW COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN LOWER MICHIGAN

*   UNTIL 850 AM EDT
 
*   SOME AREAS AFFECTED
    SALINE                        BY 801 AM EDT
    ANN ARBOR                     BY 804 AM EDT
    YPSILANTI                     BY 810 AM EDT

*   AT 746 AM EDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY
    DETROIT/PONTIAC DOPPLER RADAR 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ANN ARBOR
    OR 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MANCHESTER MOVING EAST AT 55 MPH.
 
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.

DJF

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 7:21 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXLenawee64 min
Aug 16, 8:06 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXMonroe49 min
Aug 16, 8:15 AM EDTTornado WarningDTXWayne65 min
Aug 16, 2:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXMonroe40 min
Aug 16, 3:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXLenawee56 min
Aug 16, 4:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXLenawee, Monroe55 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.