Alert archive / Michigan / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1999

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 14, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

May 16, 1999Allegan County, Kent County, Ottawa County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1999, 10:56 PM EDT for Allegan County, Kent County, Ottawa County, Michigan. It was in force for 34 min. 2 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
May 16, 1999, 10:56 PM EDT (02:56 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1999, 11:30 PM EDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Allegan County, MI, Kent County, MI, Ottawa County, MI

The radar

The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 28 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:58 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
May 16, 11:00 PM EDTThunderstorm WindHolland, MIStrong winds downed numerous trees and power lines in Holland.
May 16, 11:30 PM EDTThunderstorm WindBurnips, MIStrong winds downed power lines over a house... resulting in a small fire.

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

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 00:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 254 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 1999-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1410 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 1999-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 202 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
1410 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-64 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
821 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
202 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
387 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.4
Supercell composite
4.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Rapids, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 16, 3:00 PM EDT, 7 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 3:00 PM EDT, 7 hours 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
300 PM EDT SUN MAY 16 1999

SFC LOW LOCATED IN SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AT MIDDAY...WITH A COLD FRONT
STRETCHING SOUTHWARD AND A WEAK WARM FRONT EXTENDING EAST INTO THE
SRN GRT LKS REGION. ALOFT...FLAT UPR RIDGING LOCATED OVR THE GRT
LKS...WITH AN UPR TROF MOVG THROUGH THE ROCKIES. THROUGH THE SHORT
TERM PERIOD...SFC LOW LIFTS NORTHEAST DRAGGING A COLD FRONT THROUGH
THE FCST AREA MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. ALOFT...WESTERN UPR TROF
MOVES NORTHEAST AND FLATTENS RIDGE EVEN FURTHER. WEAK UPR SHORTWAVES
EJECTING NORTHEAST OUT OF THE WESTERN TROF AIDING CONVECTIVE
DEVELOPMENT...LIKE THE ONE MOVG THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS AIDING
CONVECTION IN IOWA ATTM. FCST CONCERNS IN THE SHORT TERM WILL BE
TIMING AND EXTENT OF SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

TWO OF THE THREE SHORT TERM MODELS ONCE AGAIN IN AGREEMENT...NAMELY
THE ETA AND THE AVN. NGM IS ONCE AGAIN THE ODD MODEL OUT...MAINLY DUE
TO TIMING DIFFERENCES. WILL FOLLOW THE ETA THIS GO ARND. QUICKER
MOVEMENT OF THE FEATURES FROM THE ETA/AVN SOLUTIONS NOT THAT HARD TO
BUY GIVEN THAT THE UPR S/WV IS FINALLY ON THE MOVE WITH KICKER
DROPPING INTO THE PACIFIC NW.

AS FOR TONIGHT...CONVECTION OVR IOWA MOVG THIS DIRECTION. TSTM/S MOVG
EASTWARD...PER THE 700-300MB LAYER FLOW. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE
MOVG AWAY FROM THEIR SUPPORT (WEAK UPR S/WV AND THE LLJ)...SO EXPECT
THAT CONVECTION WILL DIMINISH AS IT MOVES EAST. ANTICIPATE ANOTHER
MCS TO FIRE THIS EVENING OVR IOWA AND MOVE EAST INTO LWR MI AFTER
MIDNIGHT. BETTER CHANCES FOR PCPN WITH THIS ROUND OF CONVECTION. WILL
CARRY 50 POPS SOUTH AND 40 POPS NORTH. BETTER CHANCES TO THE
SOUTH...DUE TO THE PROXIMITY TO THE CONVECTION. A RATHER WARM NIGHT
EXPECTED WITH LOWS RANGING FROM THE UPR 50S NORTH TO THE LOWER 60S
SOUTH.

FOR MONDAY...WEAK S/WV MOVES INTO WI...PROVIDING SYNOPTIC SUPPORT.
RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION ASSOCIATED WITH UPR WAVE ALSO ADDING SOME LIFT.
EXPECT ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTION TO MOVE IN DURING THE LATE
AFTERNOON...AFTER LEFTOVER CONVECTION FROM THE MORNING
DISSIPATES/MOVES EAST. WILL CARRY LIKELY POPS (60 PCT) FCST AREA
WIDE. LIKE THE COOLER FAN NUMBERS TOMORROW GIVEN EXTENT OF CLOUDS AND
PROBABILITY OF PRECIPITATION. UPPER 70S SHOULD WORK MOST LOCALES.

WILL UP THE POPS TO CATEGORICAL (80 PCT) FOR MONDAY NIGHT GIVEN
PROXIMITY OF THE MAIN UPR S/WV AND APPROACHING SFC FRONTAL BOUNDARY.
WILL MENTION OCCASIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THREAT FOR SVR
TSTM/S DOES EXIST MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING PER THE DAY TWO
OUTLOOK...MAINLY IN THE FORM OF SVR WIND GUSTS. FLOW WILL BE
UNIDIRECTIONAL FROM THE SOUTHWEST AT ABOUT 40KTS IN THE LWR TROP...SO
SVR SFC GUSTS OF ARND 60 MPH POSSIBLE. THREAT FOR SVR WILL HINGE ON
AMOUNT OF DESTABILIZATION DURING THE DAY TMRW. IF SUNSHINE BREAKS OUT
IN THE AFTERNOON AND JUMPS TEMPS INTO THE 80S...THREAT FOR SVR WILL
INCREASE...BUT AT THIS POINT IT APPEARS MARGINAL.

FOR TUESDAY...FRONT MOVG THROUGH THE FCST AREA IN THE MORNING...WITH
SHOWERS LIKELY THROUGH THE DAY. WILL MENTION A TSTM ALSO POSSIBLE IN
THE MORNING.

IN THE EXTENDED...BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY TUESDAY NIGHT IN THE WAKE OF
THE EXITING SHORTWAVE...THEN PARTLY CLOUDY AND DRY THE REMAINDER OF
THE WEEK. CHC FOR A SHOWER ON FRIDAY...BUT WILL LEAVE OUT FOR NOW
GIVEN POSN OF MAIN SHORTWAVE TO THE NORTH OF THE REGION.

ZONES TOWARD 400PM EDT.

.GRR...NONE.

DUKESHERER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 2:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRKent32 min
May 17, 3:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRVan Buren22 min
May 17, 4:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRAllegan, Barry, Calhoun45 min
May 17, 4:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRROttawa45 min
May 17, 4:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRREaton, Jackson25 min
May 17, 4:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRIonia, Kent25 min
May 17, 4:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRREaton, Jackson55 min
May 17, 4:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRIonia, Kent55 min
May 17, 5:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRClinton, Ingham, Montcalm62 min
May 17, 5:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRIsabella, Mecosta52 min
May 17, 5:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRGratiot52 min
May 17, 5:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRVan Buren49 min
May 17, 5:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRCalhoun, Jackson45 min
May 17, 5:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRClare, Osceola61 min
May 17, 6:20 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRIngham40 min
May 17, 6:26 PM EDTTornado WarningGRRKalamazoo49 min
May 17, 7:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRBarry, Eaton40 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Michigan, 1999Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.