Alert archive / Michigan / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

May 15, 2001Kent County, Newaygo County, Ottawa County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this flash flood warning at May 15, 2001, 2:55 AM EDT for Kent County, Newaygo County, Ottawa County, Michigan. It was in force for 6 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 2001, 2:55 AM EDT (06:55 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 2001, 9:00 AM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area
Whole counties

Counties Kent County, MI, Newaygo County, MI, Ottawa County, MI

The radar

The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:58 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 00:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 203 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 00:00Z on 2001-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 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 00:00Z on 2001-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 38 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1754 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
180 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.

000 
WGUS53 KGRR 150656
FFWGRR
MIC081-123-139-151300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
255 AM EDT TUE MAY 15 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  KENT COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
  NEWAYGO COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN
  OTTAWA COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 900 AM EDT

* AT 243 AM EDT...THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN CONTINUE TO
  TRACK THROUGH OTTAWA...KENT AND SOUTHWEST NEWAYGO COUNTIES.  RADAR 
  ESTIMATES SUGGEST THAT UP TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN IN 
  NORTHERN OTTAWA...WESTERN KENT AND SOUTHWEST NEWAYGO COUNTIES.  
  THIS IS ENOUGH RAINFALL TO BEGIN FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL STREAMS 
  AND CREEKS...AND PRODUCE SERIOUS URBAN FLOODING.

* ADDITIONAL STORMS WILL BE TRACKING DOWN FROM WEST CENTRAL LOWER 
  MICHIGAN THROUGH 500 AM EDT.  STORM TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN 
  THESE COUNTIES COULD REACH 5 INCHES IN SOME LOCATIONS.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS
SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY.
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 14, 11:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRROceana64 min
May 15, 12:31 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGRRMason, Oceana5 hr
May 15, 1:13 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRMuskegon, Oceana32 min
May 15, 1:18 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRROttawa27 min
May 15, 1:38 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGRRMuskegon4 hr
May 15, 1:48 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRMuskegon27 min
May 15, 1:51 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRCalhoun24 min
May 15, 2:37 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRMuskegon, Oceana38 min
May 15, 3:38 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGRRMason, Muskegon, Oceana5 hr
May 15, 3:48 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRKent, Ottawa27 min
May 15, 4:16 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRAllegan, Barry, Kent, Ottawa29 min
May 15, 5:02 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGRRBarry, Calhoun4 hr
May 15, 9:00 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningGRRBarry, Calhoun, Kent, Mason, Muskegon, Newaygo and 2 more7 hr
May 15, 5:32 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningGRRClare, Clinton, Gratiot, Ingham, Isabella, Mecosta and 2 more3 hr
May 15, 7:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRCalhoun63 min
May 15, 7:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRAllegan59 min
May 15, 7:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRVan Buren38 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Michigan, 2001Every flash flood warning in 2001

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.