Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 61, NWS Northern Indiana
NWS Northern Indiana issued this tornado warning at Jul 3, 1998, 9:49 PM EDT for Berrien County, Michigan. It was in force for 46 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
- Jul 3, 1998, 9:49 PM EDT (01:49 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 3, 1998, 10:35 PM EDT
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Northern Indiana
- Area
- Whole counties
County Berrien County, MI
The radar
The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:50 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 10:25 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Sawyer, MI | POWERS LINE DOWN IN SAWYER AND ACROSS COUNTY. |
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 nearest sounding before it
Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 262 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
- 2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -51 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1779 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 69 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 147 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFWA 040149 RRA TORFWA MIC021-040235- BULLETIN- EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 849 PM EST (849 PM CDT) FRI JUL 3 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... BERRIEN COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN LOWER MICHIGAN * UNTIL 1035 PM EDT (935 PM EST) * AT 946 PM EDT... DOPPLER RADAR AT NORTH WEBSTER INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 18 MILES WEST OF BENTON HARBOR OR 13 MILES NORTHWEST OF BRIDGMAN MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH. * SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE... SHOREHAM HARBERT BRIDGMAN ST JOSEPH SAWYER IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO... THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. IF NO BASEMENXT IS AVAILABLE... SEEK SAFETY IN AN INTERIOR ROOM AND AVOID WINDOWS. TEH/JLA
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.
NWS Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Jul 3, 8:57 PM EDT, 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 3, 8:57 PM EDT, 52 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 757 PM EST FRI JUL 3 1998 00Z MESO ANALYSIS SHOWING CURRENT CONVECTION ACRS N IL AND S LM IN RESPONSE TO SW ENERGY INVOF NE IA SW WI AND SFC COLD FRONT. LOOKS LIKE FAIR PUSH WITH FRONT GIVEN LARGE 3HR PRESSURE FALLS. BEST MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AND HIGHER THETA-E NOW WORKING INTO NW IN. ADAS PUTS FRONT FROM NORTH OF ORD TO OMA WITH BEST INSTABILITY SPREADING EASTWARD. 00Z RAOBS FROM ILX AND DVN INDICATE CAPES 2-3K J/KG. HEAVY RAIN A GOOD BET BASED ON DVN DEEP LYR MOISTURE WITH PW OVER 2 INCHES. SVR WX THREAT WOULD SEEM SLIGHT GIVEN UNIMPRESSIVE SHEAR VALUES BUT MODIFIED NSHARP DOES SHOW MUCH HIGHER SREH VALUES WITH SOUTHEASTWARD MOVING STORMS. THIS INDEED THE CASE WITH CURRENT SEVERE CONVECTIVE CLUSTER NEAR ORD. EXTRAPOLATION OF CURRENT LEADING PRECIP EDGE WOULD PUT IT INTO NW OH COUNTIES CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT. CURRENT FORECAST LOOK TO HAVE PRETTY GOOD HANDLE ON THINGS OTHERWISE. .IWX...NONE. TEH
The office that day
Everything else NWS Northern Indiana issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 10:35 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | IWX | Cass | 50 min |
| Jul 3, 11:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | Saint Joseph | 46 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.