Alert archive / Michigan / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Detroit, MI

May 5, 2003Macomb County, Oakland County, Michigan

NWS Detroit, MI issued this tornado warning at May 5, 2003, 7:53 PM EDT for Macomb County, Oakland County, Michigan. It was in force for 52 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, 7:53 PM EDT (23:53 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 2003, 8:45 PM EDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Detroit, MI
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Macomb County, MI, Oakland County, MI

The radar

The Detroit radar (KDTX), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:55 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, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 33 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 052353
TORDTX
MIC099-125-060045-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DETROIT/PONTIAC HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 845 PM EDT

* AT 750 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER LEONARD...
  OR 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF LAPEER...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH. 

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  LEONARD...ROMEO AT 805 PM EDT
  ARMADA AT 820 PM EDT
  MEMPHIS...RICHMOND AT 830 PM EDT

SEEK SHELTER IN THE INNERMOST PORTION OF THE BUILDING...ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR. GET TO A BASEMENT IF ONE IS AVAILABLE...AND AVOID WINDOWS.
PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS WITH CUSHIONS OR PILLOWS.

LAT...LON 4289 8329 4276 8326 4276 8274 4290 8275

$$

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, 6:58 PM EDTTornado WarningDTXGenesee, Oakland32 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, 7:57 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.