Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Gaylord, MI

July 3, 1999Montmorency County, Oscoda County, Michigan

NWS Gaylord, MI issued this tornado warning at Jul 3, 1999, 7:20 PM EDT for Montmorency County, Oscoda County, Michigan. It was in force for 35 min. 3 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
Jul 3, 1999, 7:20 PM EDT (23:20 UTC)
Expired
Jul 3, 1999, 7:55 PM EDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Gaylord, MI
Area
Whole counties

Counties Montmorency County, MI, Oscoda County, MI

The radar

The NCL Michigan radar (KAPX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:21 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
Jul 3, 7:20 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 65Lewiston, MIHundreds of trees down around Wolf Lake. Several homes had roof damage
Jul 3, 7:21 PM EDTTornado F1Lewiston, MI60 yard wide swath of trees snapped off 8 feet above the ground. 3 homes damaged. Several mobile homes damaged. Tornado continued into Oscoda county.
Jul 3, 7:25 PM EDTTornado F2Comins, MIContinuation of Montmorency County tornado. Most extensive area of damage occurred here. See narrative below. Tornado continued into Alcona 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

Alpena, MI (KAPX), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 138 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, Alpena, MI at 12:00Z on 1999-07-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 643 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Alpena, MI at 12:00Z on 1999-07-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 207 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
643 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-108 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
829 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
207 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
271 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KAPX 032321 RRA
TORAPN
MIC119-135-032355-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI
720 PM EDT SAT JUL 3 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GAYLORD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MONTMORENCY COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN LOWER MICHIGAN
  OSCODA COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN LOWER MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 755 PM EDT

* AT 719 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ATLANTA... fMOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE STORM PRODUCING THE TORNADO WILL BE AT...
  COMINS BY 732 PM EDT

PERSONS IN AND NEAR THESE AREAS SHOULD IMMEDIATELY MOVE INTO A
BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

HIRSCH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 3, 7:39 PM EDTTornado WarningAPXAlcona31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999

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.