Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Grand Rapids, MI

May 21, 2001Gratiot County, Isabella County, Michigan

NWS Grand Rapids, MI issued this tornado warning at May 21, 2001, 4:14 PM EDT for Gratiot County, Isabella County, Michigan. It was in force for 31 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: May 21, 2001, 4:14 PM EDT (20:14 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 2001, 4:45 PM EDT
In force: 31 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Rapids, MI
Area: Whole counties

Counties Gratiot County, MI, Isabella County, MI

The radar

The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:14 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, 4:20 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Elwell, MI	A man was slightly injured when a shed he was in collapsed, a pickup truck was flipped over, and two building were partially unroofed by a F1 tornado that touched down in Elwell. The tornado produced maximum estimated wind speeds to 110 m.p.h. It had a path le
May 21, 4:40 PM EDT	Tornado F0	Ithaca, MI	A F0 tornado producing maximum estimated wind speeds to 60 m.p.h. touched down just north of Pierce road, and moved north through downtown Ithaca, ending north of St. Charles street. The tornado had a path length of 2.5 miles and a width of 50 yards. The only
May 21, 4:40 PM EDT	Tornado F1	Shepherd, MI	A F1 tornado with a path length of 4 miles and width of 40 yards produced maximum estimated wind speeds to 80 m.p.h. It touched down just north of Pleasant Valley road and moved north, parallel to Mission road, then ended just north of Wing road. One man was s

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, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 134 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.

000 
WFUS53 KGRR 212014
TORGRR
MIC057-073-212045-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND RAPIDS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  GRATIOT COUNTY IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN
  SOUTHERN ISABELLA COUNTY IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 445 PM EDT

* AT 409 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER SUMNER...OR ABOUT 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ALMA...MOVING
  NORTH AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   RIVERDALE...ALMA AROUND 420 PM EDT
   FOREST HILL AROUND 430 PM EDT
   WINN AROUND 440 PM EDT
   SHEPHERD AROUND 445 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/BDM

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, 3:30 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	GRR	Kent	45 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, 4:45 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.