Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Detroit, MI

June 24, 1998Washtenaw County, Michigan

NWS Detroit, MI issued this tornado warning at Jun 24, 1998, 6:35 PM EDT for Washtenaw County, Michigan. It was in force for 40 min. 6 reports 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 24, 1998, 6:35 PM EDT (22:35 UTC)
Expired
Jun 24, 1998, 7:15 PM EDT
In force
40 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 22:37 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 24, 6:40 PM EDTHail 1Chelsea, MI
Jun 24, 6:40 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 65Sylvan, MI
Jun 24, 7:10 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 65Ann Arbor, MI
Jun 24, 7:15 PM EDTHail 1.75Ypsilanti, MI
Jun 24, 7:15 PM EDTHail 1.75Whittaker, MI
Jun 24, 7:20 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 61Whittaker, 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 24, 3:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 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 12:00Z on 1998-06-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 28 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 1998-06-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 89 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
28 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-202 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1540 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
89 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
172 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.

728 
WFUS01 KDTX 242234 RRA
TORDTX
MIC161-242315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
635 PM EDT WED JUN 24 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DETROIT/PONTIAC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WASHTENAW COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN LOWER MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 715 PM EDT

* AT 634 PM EDT...  NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A DEVELOPING TORNADO 16 MILES WEST OF ANN ARBOR OR 15 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF SALINE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* SOME AREAS AFFECTED
  SALINE                        BY 705 PM EDT


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.


STRUBLE

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 24, 2:57 PM EDT, 3 hours 38 minutes before
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075>076-082>083-250100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
257 PM EDT WED JUN 24 1998

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 653 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT
TONIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
NUMBER 653 FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN...IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM
EDT.  THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE IN THE WATCH...

MIDLAND              BAY              HURON
SAGINAW              TUSCOLA          SANILAC
SHIAWASSEE           GENESEE          LAPEER
LIVINGSTOM           OAKLAND          MACOMB
ST CLAIR             WASHTENAW        WAYNE
LENAWEE              MONROE

SOME CITIES IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH INCLUDE...MIDLAND...BAY
CITY...BAD AXE...SAGINAW...CARO...SANDUSKY...OWOSSO...FLINT...
LAPEER...PORT HURON...HOWELL...PONTIAC...MT CLEMENS...ANN ARBOR...
DETROIT...ADRIAN...AND MONROE.

A WARM FRONT EXTENDING ACROSS SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN WILL MOVE NORTH
ACROSS LOWER MICHIGAN THROUGH THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING
HOURS. THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THIS BOUNDARY DURING THE
AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS AND MOVE TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. LOOK
FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH AND DIME SIZED OR LARGER
HAIL. ALSO EXPECT FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAINFALL.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

ZELL
Special weather statement, Jun 24, 2:57 PM EDT, 3 hours 38 minutes before
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075>076-082>083-250100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
257 PM EDT WED JUN 24 1998

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 653 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM EDT
TONIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
NUMBER 653 FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN...IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM
EDT.  THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ARE IN THE WATCH...

MIDLAND              BAY              HURON
SAGINAW              TUSCOLA          SANILAC
SHIAWASSEE           GENESEE          LAPEER
LIVINGSTOM           OAKLAND          MACOMB
ST CLAIR             WASHTENAW        WAYNE
LENAWEE              MONROE

SOME CITIES IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH INCLUDE...MIDLAND...BAY
CITY...BAD AXE...SAGINAW...CARO...SANDUSKY...OWOSSO...FLINT...
LAPEER...PORT HURON...HOWELL...PONTIAC...MT CLEMENS...ANN ARBOR...
DETROIT...ADRIAN...AND MONROE.

A WARM FRONT EXTENDING ACROSS SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN WILL MOVE NORTH
ACROSS LOWER MICHIGAN THROUGH THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING
HOURS. THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THIS BOUNDARY DURING THE
AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS AND MOVE TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. LOOK
FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH AND DIME SIZED OR LARGER
HAIL. ALSO EXPECT FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAINFALL.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

ZELL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 24, 4:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXMidland47 min
Jun 24, 4:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXShiawassee49 min
Jun 24, 5:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXBay35 min
Jun 24, 6:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXWashtenaw55 min
Jun 24, 6:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXMidland47 min
Jun 24, 6:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXMonroe55 min
Jun 24, 6:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXLenawee51 min
Jun 24, 7:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXWayne36 min
Jun 24, 7:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXWashtenaw15 min
Jun 24, 7:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXWashtenaw10 min
Jun 24, 7:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXMonroe60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

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.