Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Detroit, MI

May 9, 2000Oakland County, Michigan

NWS Detroit, MI issued this tornado warning at May 9, 2000, 8:52 PM EDT for Oakland County, Michigan. It was in force for 53 min. 5 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 9, 2000, 8:52 PM EDT (00:52 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 2000, 9:45 PM EDT
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Detroit, MI
Area: Whole counties

County Oakland County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 8 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:55 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
May 9, 8:53 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 62 E	Highland, MI
May 9, 8:53 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Highland, MI
May 9, 8:54 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Farmington, MI
May 9, 9:01 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Orchard Lake Vlg, MI
May 9, 9:10 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Waterford, 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 9, 6:30 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 8 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: 365 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 773 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 159 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 317 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 2.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KDTX 100053
TORDTX
MIC125-100145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
852 PM EDT TUE MAY 9 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DETROIT/PONTIAC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  OAKLAND COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 945 PM EDT

* AT 852 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 3 MILES SOUTH OF FARMINGTON...OR 17 MILES SOUTH
  OF PONTIAC...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  FERNDALE...SOUTHFIELD AT 900 PM EDT
  BIRMINGHAM...BLOOMFIELD HILLS...ROYAL OAK AT 905 PM EDT
  ROCHESTER AT 915 PM EDT

PEOPLE IN THE PROJECTED PATH OF THE TORNADO SHOULD SEEK SHELTER
IMMEDIATELY. MOVE INSIDE A BASEMENT...OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR.

JW DJF

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 8:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DTX	Livingston	26 min
May 9, 8:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DTX	Monroe	35 min
May 9, 8:14 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	DTX	Livingston	46 min
May 9, 8:22 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	DTX	Monroe, Wayne	38 min
May 9, 8:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DTX	Oakland	53 min
May 9, 8:45 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DTX	Macomb	60 min
May 9, 8:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DTX	Wayne	16 min
May 9, 9:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DTX	Lapeer, Saint Clair	54 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 2000 Every tornado warning in 2000 Tornadoes in 2000

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.