Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Detroit, MI

May 5, 2003Genesee County, Oakland County, Michigan

NWS Detroit, MI issued this tornado warning at May 5, 2003, 6:58 PM EDT for Genesee County, Oakland County, Michigan. It was in force for 32 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
May 5, 2003, 6:58 PM EDT (22:58 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 2003, 7:30 PM EDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Detroit, MI
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Genesee County, MI, Oakland County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:00 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 5, 5:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 27 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 2003-05-05Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Detroit, MI at 12:00Z on 2003-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 145 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
496 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
145 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
401 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 
WFUS53 KDTX 052258
TORDTX
MIC049-125-052330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
658 PM EDT MON MAY 5 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DETROIT/PONTIAC HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  GENESEE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
  OAKLAND COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN

* UNTIL 730 PM EDT

* AT 655 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 2 MILES NORTH OF
  FENTON...OR 13 MILES SOUTH OF FLINT...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. 

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  GRAND BLANC...BURTON...HOLLY AT 705 PM EDT
  GOODRICH...DAVISON AT 715 PM EDT

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IN A HOME OR
BUSINESS IS AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID
WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 4293 8376 4278 8376 4280 8347 4307 8346

$$

MANN JB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 5:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXShiawassee49 min
May 5, 6:36 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXGenesee39 min
May 5, 6:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXWashtenaw50 min
May 5, 6:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXLivingston40 min
May 5, 7:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXLapeer51 min
May 5, 7:12 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXWashtenaw48 min
May 5, 7:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXWayne57 min
May 5, 7:29 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXWayne46 min
May 5, 7:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXOakland43 min
May 5, 7:53 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningDTX82 min
May 5, 7:53 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXMacomb, Oakland52 min
May 5, 7:57 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDTXSaint Clair63 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.