Alert archive / Wisconsin / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 355

May 30, 200212 counties in Michigan; 4 counties in Minnesota; 30 counties in Wisconsin

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 30, 2002, 3:00 PM EDT for 12 counties in Michigan; 4 counties in Minnesota; 30 counties in Wisconsin. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 30, 2002, 3:00 PM EDT (19:00 UTC)
Expired: May 30, 2002, 9:00 PM EDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 46 counties

Alger County, MI, Baraga County, MI, Delta County, MI, Dickinson County, MI, Gogebic County, MI, Houghton County, MI, Iron County, MI, Keweenaw County, MI, Marquette County, MI, Menominee County, MI, Ontonagon County, MI, Schoolcraft County, MI, Carlton County, MN, Cook County, MN, Lake County, MN, Pine County, MN, Ashland County, WI, Bayfield County, WI, Brown County, WI, Burnett County, WI, Calumet County, WI, Door County, WI, Douglas County, WI, Florence County, WI, Forest County, WI, Iron County, WI, Kewaunee County, WI, Langlade County, WI, Lincoln County, WI, Manitowoc County, WI, Marathon County, WI, Marinette County, WI, Menominee County, WI, Oconto County, WI, Oneida County, WI, Outagamie County, WI, Portage County, WI, Price County, WI, Rusk County, WI, Sawyer County, WI, Shawano County, WI, Taylor County, WI, Vilas County, WI, Washburn County, WI, Waupaca County, WI, Winnebago County, WI

The radar

The Marquette radar (KMQT), 168 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:04 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

4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 30, 8:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MQT	Dickinson, Iron	41 min
May 30, 8:21 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	MQT	Dickinson, Iron	39 min
May 30, 8:51 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MQT	Baraga	39 min
May 30, 8:58 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	MQT	Dickinson, Menominee	47 min

The nearest sounding before it

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 281 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: 707 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -50 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 784 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 46 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 
WWUS20 KWNS 301851
SEL5  
SPC WW 301842
MIZ000-MNZ000-WIZ000-LMZ000-LSZ000-310100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 355
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
142 PM CDT THU MAY 30 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   UPPER MICHIGAN                           
   THE MINNESOTA ARROWHEAD                         
   NORTHERN AND EASTERN WISCONSIN                          
   WESTERN LAKE MICHIGAN                      
   WESTERN ADN SOUTHERN LAKE SUPERIOR                      

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 200 PM UNTIL 800
PM CDT.

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 105 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTH OF DULUTH MINNESOTA TO 55 MILES SOUTH
SOUTHEAST OF ESCANABA 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.

DISCUSSION...SUPERCELLS/SUPERCELL CLUSTERS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
INVOF SURFACE TRIPLE POINT AND CONVECTIVE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES IN WW
AREA LATER THIS AFTERNOON AS SURFACE HEATING CONTINUES TO 
DESTABILIZE REGION.  WNWLY UPPER FLOW WILL STRENGTHEN WITH TIME...
INCREASING DEEP SHEAR AND CONTINUING TO ADVECT STEEP MID LEVEL
LAPSE RATES ACROSS REGION.  TORNADO POTENTIAL SHOULD BE GREATEST
OVER NRN/ERN WI AND WRN UPR MI...ESPECIALLY INVOF ANY NW-SE
ORIENTED OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES. 

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 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 29030.

...CORFIDI

433,0873 460,0930 485,0911 462,0854

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Wisconsin, 2002 Tornado Watches in Michigan, 2002 Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 2002 Every 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.