Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

May 21, 2001Kent County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at May 21, 2001, 3:30 PM EDT for Kent County, Michigan. It was in force for 45 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 21, 2001, 3:30 PM EDT (19:30 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 2001, 4:15 PM EDT
In force: 45 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area: Whole counties

County Kent County, MI

The radar

The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 15 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:29 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
May 21, 3:40 PM EDT	Tornado F0	Plainfield Hgts, MI	A F0 tornado with maximum estimated wind speeds to 50 m.p.h. produced tree damage and knocked down a cinder block wall. The tornado had a path length of only a tenth of a mile, and a width of 50 yards.
May 21, 3:50 PM EDT	Tornado F0	Alpine, MI	A F0 tornado touched down very briefly between Alpine avenue and 4 mile road. The tornado was 50 yards wide and had a path length of only a tenth of a mile. Maximum estimated wind speeds of 65 m.p.h. caused some tree damage, and also roof damage to an apartmen

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 21, 3:00 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 176 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: 293 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -53 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 630 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 134 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 164 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

367 
WFUS53 KGRR 211931
TORGRR
MIC081-212015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI
330 PM EDT MON MAY 21 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  KENT COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 415 PM EDT

* AT 324 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND SPOTTERS
  INDICATED A TORNADO NEAR BELMONT...OR ABOUT 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  GRAND RAPIDS...MOVING NORTH AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   ROCKFORD AROUND 335 PM EDT
   CEDAR SPRINGS AROUND 345 PM EDT
   SAND LAKE AROUND 355 PM EDT

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

JK/MWH

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 21, 2:03 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Eaton	27 min
May 21, 2:52 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GRR	Allegan, Kent	38 min
May 21, 3:02 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Clinton	28 min
May 21, 3:21 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Eaton, Ionia	39 min
May 21, 3:37 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Gratiot	23 min
May 21, 3:57 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Gratiot	18 min
May 21, 4:14 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Gratiot, Isabella	31 min
May 21, 4:45 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Isabella	30 min
May 21, 4:57 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Gratiot	18 min
May 21, 5:15 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Clare, Isabella	30 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 2001 Every tornado warning in 2001 Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.