Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Gaylord, MI

August 21, 2003Alpena County, Michigan

NWS Gaylord, MI issued this tornado warning at Aug 21, 2003, 4:34 PM EDT for Alpena County, Michigan. It was in force for 41 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 21, 2003, 4:34 PM EDT (20:34 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 2003, 5:15 PM EDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Gaylord, MI
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Alpena County, MI

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 21, 1:30 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 259 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 12:00Z on 2003-08-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 2003-08-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 59 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1607 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
68 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KAPX 212034
TORAPX
MIC007-212115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI
433 PM EDT THU AUG 21 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GAYLORD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ALPENA COUNTY IN NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT

* AT 430 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
  A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO ABOUT 6 MILES 
  SOUTHEAST OF LACHINE...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADIC STORM WILL REACH...
  DEVILS LAKE AROUND 440 PM EDT
  ALPENA AROUND 445 PM EDT

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR
AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. VEHICLES AND MOBILE HOMES
SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR STURDIER SHELTER.

THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THE WARNED AREA.

LAT...LON 4513 8370 4495 8372 4491 8309 4513 8307

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 4:02 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX88 min
Aug 21, 4:02 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX88 min
Aug 21, 4:02 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX88 min
Aug 21, 7:08 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXWexford37 min
Aug 21, 9:25 AM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX50 min
Aug 21, 12:03 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX57 min
Aug 21, 2:31 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX44 min
Aug 21, 2:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXChippewa57 min
Aug 21, 3:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXMontmorency, Presque Isle57 min
Aug 21, 3:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXChippewa44 min
Aug 21, 3:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXOscoda57 min
Aug 21, 4:00 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX90 min
Aug 21, 4:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXRoscommon36 min
Aug 21, 4:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXAlpena, Presque Isle60 min
Aug 21, 4:30 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX90 min
Aug 21, 4:30 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX90 min
Aug 21, 4:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXOgemaw65 min
Aug 21, 4:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXAlcona71 min
Aug 21, 5:12 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX33 min
Aug 21, 5:55 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX50 min
Aug 21, 5:59 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX31 min
Aug 21, 5:59 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX31 min
Aug 21, 6:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXIosco30 min
Aug 21, 6:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAPXIosco33 min
Aug 21, 6:30 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX30 min
Aug 21, 6:30 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX30 min
Aug 21, 7:00 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX30 min
Aug 21, 7:00 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningAPX30 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Michigan, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes in 2003

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.