Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Watches in 2002
Tornado Watch 114
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 18, 2002, 6:00 PM EDT for 7 counties in Michigan; 4 counties in Wisconsin. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 18, 2002, 6:00 PM EDT (22:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 18, 2002, 11:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Alger County, MI, Baraga County, MI, Delta County, MI, Dickinson County, MI, Iron County, MI, Marquette County, MI, Menominee County, MI, Florence County, WI, Forest County, WI, Oneida County, WI, Vilas County, WI
The radar
The Marquette radar (KMQT), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:00 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.
Warnings issued inside it
13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 6:15 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GRB | Oneida | 45 min |
| Apr 18, 6:16 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB | Lincoln, Oneida | 59 min |
| Apr 18, 6:29 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GRB | Oneida, Vilas | 91 min |
| Apr 18, 6:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MQT | Baraga, Houghton | 45 min |
| Apr 18, 6:53 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GRB | Forest | 37 min |
| Apr 18, 7:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB | Florence, Forest | 49 min |
| Apr 18, 7:29 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MQT | Baraga | 31 min |
| Apr 18, 7:50 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | GRB | Oneida, Vilas | 40 min |
| Apr 18, 8:03 PM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | GRB | Florence, Forest, Oneida, Vilas | 117 min |
| Apr 18, 8:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MQT | Marquette | 28 min |
| Apr 18, 8:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB | Florence | 28 min |
| Apr 18, 8:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MQT | Alger | 36 min |
| Apr 18, 8:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB | Lincoln, Oneida | 49 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 170 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1774 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 460 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 766 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 182155 SEL4 SPC WW 182151 MIZ000-WIZ000-LMZ000-LSZ000-190300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 114 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 551 PM EDT THU APR 18 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN NORTHEAST WISCONSIN EXTREME NORTHWEST LAKE MICHIGAN EXTREME SOUTHERN LAKE SUPERIOR EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 600 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF IRON MOUNTAIN MICHIGAN TO 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF MARQUETTE MICHIGAN. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 110...WW 111...WW 112...WW 113... DISCUSSION...WARM FRONT WILL LIFT NWD INTO WRN UPPER MI IN ADVANCE OF THE SURFACE LOW IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. DESTABILIZATION FROM THE S AND STRONG LOW-LEVEL SHEAR ALONG THE FRONT...ALONG WITH OTHER SURFACE BOUNDARIES...WILL SUPPORT A THREAT OF SUPERCELLS WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND A COUPLE OF TORNADOES. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035. ...THOMPSON 452,0894 464,0892 464,0862 452,0865 WWUS20 KWNS 182155 SEL4 SPC WW 182151 MIZ000-WIZ000-LMZ000-LSZ000-190300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 114 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 551 PM EDT THU APR 18 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL UPPER MICHIGAN NORTHEAST WISCONSIN EXTREME NORTHWEST LAKE MICHIGAN EXTREME SOUTHERN LAKE SUPERIOR EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 600 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF IRON MOUNTAIN MICHIGAN TO 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF MARQUETTE MICHIGAN. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 110...WW 111...WW 112...WW 113... DISCUSSION...WARM FRONT WILL LIFT NWD INTO WRN UPPER MI IN ADVANCE OF THE SURFACE LOW IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. DESTABILIZATION FROM THE S AND STRONG LOW-LEVEL SHEAR ALONG THE FRONT...ALONG WITH OTHER SURFACE BOUNDARIES...WILL SUPPORT A THREAT OF SUPERCELLS WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND A COUPLE OF TORNADOES. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035. ...THOMPSON 452,0894 464,0892 464,0862 452,0865
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 7:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Allegan, Antrim, Arenac, Barry, Bay, Benzie and 41 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 18, 2:00 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Barron, Buffalo, Chippewa, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire and 10 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 18, 3:30 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford and 41 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 18, 5:15 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | La Crosse, Monroe | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Michigan, 2002Tornado Watches in Wisconsin, 2002Every tornado watch in 2002
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.