Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 498

June 21, 199726 counties in Michigan

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 21, 1997, 4:00 PM EDT for 26 counties in Michigan. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jun 21, 1997, 4:00 PM EDT (20:00 UTC)
Expired: Jun 21, 1997, 9:00 PM EDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 26 counties

Barry County, MI, Bay County, MI, Branch County, MI, Calhoun County, MI, Cass County, MI, Clinton County, MI, Eaton County, MI, Genesee County, MI, Hillsdale County, MI, Ingham County, MI, Jackson County, MI, Kalamazoo County, MI, Lapeer County, MI, Lenawee County, MI, Livingston County, MI, Macomb County, MI, Monroe County, MI, Oakland County, MI, Saginaw County, MI, Saint Clair County, MI, Saint Joseph County, MI, Sanilac County, MI, Shiawassee County, MI, Tuscola County, MI, Washtenaw County, MI, Wayne County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:03 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.

Warnings issued inside it

14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 21, 4:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Clinton, Eaton, Ionia	77 min
Jun 21, 4:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Barry	77 min
Jun 21, 4:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Cass	47 min
Jun 21, 4:31 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DTX	Shiawassee	59 min
Jun 21, 4:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Kalamazoo, Saint Joseph	61 min
Jun 21, 4:47 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	DTX	Genesee	43 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

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 53 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

808 
WWUS9 KMKC 211945
SEL8  
MKC WW 211945
MIZ000-LHZ000-LEZ000-220100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 498
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
345 PM EDT SAT JUN 21 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EASTERN AND SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN                           
   LAKE HURON                         
   WESTERN LAKE ERIE                          

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 400 PM UNTIL 900
PM EDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF JACKSON MICHIGAN TO 100
MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF SAGINAW MICHIGAN.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.


DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE/INTENSITY
THIS AFTERNOON IN ZONE OF LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE AHEAD OF MESOSCALE
CONVECTIVE VORTEX.  CAPE TO 4000 J/KG IN 25 KT SOUTHERLY INFLOW
JET...ALONG WITH 40-50 KT MID LEVEL WESTERLY JET SUGGESTS POTENTIAL
FOR SUPERCELLS AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY IN VICINITY OF
E/W STATIONARY FRONT IN NORTHERN PART OF WATCH.   


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26035.


...CORFIDI

414,0862 434,0834 434,0802 414,0830

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 21, 8:00 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Berrien	4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Michigan, 1997 Every tornado watch 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.